Azure Eyes
by Nualie
Summary: A One Last God: Kubera fic. My co-writer is ASHES2ASHES2112, who did most of the fancy-wording. By the way, "bold" is normal speech, bold alone is sura speech, italics are thoughts.
1. How it started- 1

D1- Planet Gresvan

The young boy stared up at the sky, surprised by a sudden chill.

He stayed in that position along with the rest of his world, confused.

The sky… It was gone. Only a gigantic darkness could be seen, and the temperature was dropping degrees every second.

The only light came when the thing moved, its mere movements creating immense gusts of wind and pulverising buildings, trees, people. A ray of light refracted on the ice-like skin of the creature, and the rainbow was so blinding in the darkness that the boy's eyes teared up as he fell on his knees.

"**Dad. Mom. I'm scared. Where are you?"**

An cyan eye opened in the sky, bigger than the sun itself.

"**Mom. Mom. Mom. You said you'd be back soon. Come back now, okay? Save us."**

The boy stared back to the glittering creature.

It somehow seemed… Slightly sad, and terribly mad at the same time. Although the boy didn't know how he could tell.

The eye closed again.

"**Dad. When is mom coming back? She said she'd be back soon right? She'll save us right?"**

"**Dad?"**

The Half finally turned to the collapsed building behind him.

His cry was lost in the roar of his king.

The icy, sparkling tentacles stabbed through Gresvan's atmosphere, whipping up hurricanes as they pierced through the metallic planet's crust. Oceans produced tsunamis and lava sprouted from the cracks on the doomed planet's surface.

Finally it cracked as the planet collapsed. Backing through the debris, the King sported a satisfied expression as he gazed at his work. The oceans, frozen upon entering outer space, were vaporized as all pressure left as a result of the sura's work. No sound could be heard, and the home of billions simply vanished in a matter of seconds as it was broken apart, particles being projected everywhere. A cloud of dust slowly dispersing.

It was as if the planet had never been there.

**That shall teach you to defy us, humans.** Gandharva spoke in the language of sura, since sound did not travel in this place.

**NOOOO!**

An anguished scream burst from a giant, glittering undersea beast. Another Nastika.

The smaller of the two resembled a winged serpent, with a lean, muscular body. Teal specks along the sides of her body glittered as she burst through the debris, thin but strong fins rippling along the top and sides of her body.

**WHY? WHY DID YOU DO THAT, GANDHARVA?**

**Why are you so angry, Leviathan? I know you quite liked this planet, but these filthy ants had to pay for betraying us. Don't you think? **Answered a confused Gandharva.

**YOU STUPID LUGWORM! THERE WEREN'T JUST HUMANS THERE REMEMBER? AND ALL THE UPANIS AND MARAS AND HALVES OF OUR CLANS?**

**Leviathan, calm down, **replied the king with a slightly annoyed tone. **I know you-**

The larger Nastika was cut off by an abrupt, wild attack. Leviathan lunged at him, rows upon rows of razor sharp teeth shining in her maw. As she backed off, barely avoiding his retaliation, she fired a transcendental at him that only just missed his head by a matter of meters. "_Abysmal Bite_" could blow up planets- she really was serious about trying to kill him.

_But why? Because of a few Upanis?_ Gandharva thought. _No. I'll see to that later- I need to subdue her before she forces me to kill her…_

_Her? _

_Wait._

_Why hasn't she turned male, if she wants to kill me? She has no chances at this rate, and she knows it. It's as if Sagara tried to kill Ananta! It doesn't make any sense._

However, the king's trail of thought was interrupted by another transcendental Leviathan had been preparing during this pause. It missed his body, but opened a hole big enough in his wing for it to take some time to regenerate.

_Okay, I'll immobilize her. I don't have much choice._

The titanic monsters continued their dance, attacking, weaving, dodging. Leviathan's lithe body allowed her to evade almost every attacks, while Gandharva's impressive regeneration made up for the little damage that was done to him. Until finally, the King saw an opening.

The spiked tentacles pierced through his weaker opponent's body, to pin her down to a massive, deserted asteroid nearby that was floating astray... Or so he thought.

Levi wasn't there anymore. Or to be more exact, she had reverted to human form.

Gandharva panicked- he not only might have accidentally crushed her, but he couldn't pinpoint her location at all. She could simply partially transform to get behind him and launch a surprise attack, as she was known to be among the fastest when it came to complete sura-morph.

He then noticed she was actually standing right before his France-sized eye. He wouldn't have known if it hadn't been for her fully releasing her transcendental value.

**I curse you, Gandharva.** Leviathan's voice had changed- it had become calmer, more controlled. Her words, however, provided a sharp contrast to her tone. **You have made me hurt, more than you could ever imagine. **Her voice suddenly became much fiercer. **I curse you to feel pain, Gandharva. Pain as potent as that which you have forced me to experience today. Pain powerful enough to show you the true meaning of sorrow. **

**I curse you... I curse you to kill your own loved ones, the few closest to your heart, with your own two filthy, stained hands. May you find love and rip it apart!**

And then she was gone, leaving a confused Gandharva behind among the ruins of what was once a thriving, prosperous planet.

_To be continued~_


	2. How it started- 2

_D1- Gandharva Stronghold, Planet Carte_

"**This is too much,"** a young man groaned. "**Did she have to make such a mess?"**

He had skin of a pale lilac tone accented with light blue eyebrows over purple eyes, with light blue hair dropping to his back, gaining a darker hue as it reached his neck. He wore a pinkish-brown sweater over a plain brown shirt, complemented with darker brown pants. He also had a couple of small, blue earrings.

"**Urvasi, stop complaining. Maybe she had left something important on Gresvan?" **a woman with striking golden eyes suggested.

Her hair was dark blue, left loose as it hung over her back. She wore a green dress with lighter frills, that accentuated her impressively large chest. Her skin had a rather plain nuance, contrasting with the rainbow of skin tones exhibited by the other Gandharva clan suras. A mermaid-like tail made up her lower body, her feet replaced by sharp fins.

"**I don't see what would be that important. Important enough to morph inside our very stronghold. Come on, Menaka," **Urvasi shouted, "**she could've **_**killed**_ **one of the kids by being so careless." **

"**That's why I'm saying she must have had a good reason to. No need to be so upset," **Menaka calmly stated, "**Gandharva and Leviathan will be back anytime soon now. You need to finish the reparations before then."**

"**But why **_**me**_**? The kids can do that just fine!"**

"**Because you lost at rock-paper-scissors. Suck it up and be a good loser."**

"**You're not making me feel any better…"**complained the unfortunate, grouchy Nastika.

Urvasi continued his work, along with the various Rakshasas around him. They went about repairing the destroyed floor by freezing the bottom of ocean where it had been damaged, and those ice blocks that had fallen apart were either smashed or pushed aside. Fortunately, the royal throne was unscathed, otherwise the King's wrath may have fallen onto them for good. He was no benevolent person (actually... not even a person), and he had a violent temper that even the strongest Nastika feared.

Minutes later, the last block was smashed, and the stronghold was presentable again.

But Gandharva was still missing.

"**Did they go on a date or something?" **Urvasi suggested, lying down near a worried Menaka.

For a split second, Menaka's expression changed, and Urvasi raised an eyebrow.

_Wha… Don't tell me…_ Before he could comment on it however, her face was normal and peaceful, as though nothing had happened.

"**Don't thou say something so stupid, Urvasi." **A cloaked man intervened. His purple skin and eyes were of a similar color to Urvasi's, but his hair was much darker and the bags under his eyes implied that he too had lost at rock-paper-scissors.

"**You're right, Makara. He'll go on a date the day Sagara actually makes a real friend…"**

A splashing sound surprised the three of them.

Gandharva was back- alone, and seemingly pissed.

_He looks pissed…_ thought Captain Obvious, err, Urvasi.

_Wait, did he hear me? Looks like not. Good grief, I got scared for a second. But why is he alone? _

_He didn't kill Levi, did he…_

"**If you're wondering why I'm alone, no, I didn't kill her."**

"**Of course. Why would we think…"**Urvasi tried.

"**You suck at lying, it's written all over your face. Gather the others, I have something to say."**

…

What followed the King's story was an astounded silence among the members of the Gandharva clan.

Until Gandharva broke it with an annoyed "**What?"**

"**So, if I summarize what happened,"**Urvasi spoke, "**You destroyed a planet clean, Levi shouted at you, called you a lugworm, attacked you, cursed you, then disappeared, all of that in her weaker female form. Am I wrong?"**

His only answers were a pissed glare and a silent nod. Gandharva had not yet calmed down completely, but his crossed arms gave a little confidence to Urvasi.

"**The same Levi who **_**always**_ **refuses to take part in fights? Are you sure it wasn't a doppelganger or Kali's prank or something? Maybe LSD?"**

With Gandharva's withering glare being as expressive a big "Yes, of course I'm sure, you moron.", Urvasi gulped audibly. Something _really_ bad must have happened to her. Levi never, ever tried to kill anyone on her own accord- to the point that she had actually never started a single fight with the gods since the beginning of the universe. She was even more pacifistic than Menaka, though they loathed each other for reasons none of the others could ever understand.

She was affectionate to the point of actually bringing a stray first-stage Rakshasa from the Ananta clan back to his stronghold _without asking anything in return._

So why in the world would she try to kill Gandharva _in female form_? That was beyond him.

"**I do agree it looks like an Out Of Character Alert. That's why I want one of you to bring her back to talk things out. We can't have one of our strongest Nastika going to the Asura Clan so easily, nor do we want our... friend to stay so distressed. Who will go?"**

A mosquito's wing beats could have been heard, assuming there were mosquitos hundreds of feet below the water…

"**Shall we play rock-paper-scissors?"**

Urvasi gulped again.

* * *

_D1, at the same moment- Somewhere in the Sura Realm._

Under the red and black sky of the barren sura realm, a young girl lay deep in thought.

Her midnight-black hair hung disheveled and unkempt, and her azure eyes glowed in the permanent twilight of the deserted land. Her clothes were wrinkled and plain. She wore a light blue sweater over a white tunic, accentuated with jeans and dark blue running shoes. They could have seemed out of place in the middle of a rocky desert, but Nastika generally wore what they want, and other sura simply couldn't choose.

Her face remained completely emotionless as she stared at the empty, starless sky as if it was the most boring thing she ever saw. Yet for some reason she couldn't take her eyes off of it.

She then, after what seemed like hours, sat up, clenched her fists, and clutched her knees to her chest.

She set a small bag in front of her and stared at it as she began sobbing. Tears flowed down her cheeks, yet nothing around her moved- she had chosen an inhabited, deserted area for a reason.

Deserted?

A lone man walked toward her. He had long, brown hair, and wore beige clothes. A carefree, almost threatening aura surrounded him, one that would make anyone shiver in fear, and would allow no one to ignore his presence.

The crying girl didn't even seem to notice him.

He stood there for a while, waiting for her tears to dry up.

Then he let out a long, drawn out sigh.

"**You** _**know**_ **I can't afford to let you stay in the middle of my clan's territory like this, right, Leviathan?"**

_To be continued~_


	3. How it started- 3

**We'll try to update weekly, or twice per week, until I'm unable to access a computer. **

**Enjoy!**

* * *

_D1, Territory of the Ananta Clan, Sura Realm._

"**You** _**know**_ **I can't afford to let you stay in the middle of my clan's territory like this, Levi, right?"**

Leviathan let out a sigh, and answered without looking at her interlocutor.

"**I know."**

She didn't seem very motivated to start a conversation.

"**Could you at least explain what happened?"**asked the brown-haired man.

"**I attacked Gandharva out of anger, and now I'll wait for him to calm down."**

Her tone seemed calm, controlled, but the underlying tension made the man nervous.

"**I see… And care telling what made you…"**

Levi's murderous glare cut off his question. _She doesn't seem very stable emotionally._

"**I still can't let you stay unless I have a very good reason, see? Can't you just apologize to him and explain to me?"** The mysterious man tried.

"**No. I don't want to. I'm sorry, Ananta."**

Ananta let out another sigh. This wasn't planning out the way he thought it would. He did want to help her- she was kind enough to regularly help out the children that went astray, although her clan didn't seem to notice how often she did- but he'd have to deal with the rest of the clan's objections. He may be the King, but he wasn't the type to impose his decisions too much.

"**I should be the one apologizing, Levi, but you'll have to leave now."**

The girl looked at him, silently picked up her small bag and stretched, with a tired look on her face.

_Hmm? That bag… That smell is…_

"**What's in there, by the way?"**

"**Ah, they're sweets I cooked. They're for…" **

Her speech was interrupted by a sudden... despaired expression. However, she quickly masked it with her usual happy smile, and Ananta could have sworn he was hallucinating.

"**You can have them, if you want."**

* * *

_D1, Ananta Stronghold, Sura Realm_

A loud ruckus near Sagara's cave woke the female Nastika up abruptly. She did not sleep very often, but she was bored and had nothing better to do. Even Ananta was gone, having left to deal with "a slight problem of locations."

She groaned, stretched, and stood up. She flattened her wavy blue hair with her hand, before it organised itself in a simple ponytail bound with red rubber that had a blue, leaf-like decoration attached to it. She wore her usual outfit, consisting of tight, dark blue pants under loose gray shorts. Thin straps held up her shorts, connecting to her pants with a large blue bow in the back. Her back and stomach were left bare, wearing a strip of blue cloth under the straps to cover her chest and the top of her back. Her feet were covered with purple high-soled shoes with a blue trim.

She yawned and looked outside. On top her usual garment she wore a lighter purplish sleeved overcoat. The overcoat was worn closed on the top, but was opened widely in the lower part, leaving her abdomen visible. The coat was accentuated with a blue scarf hanging on her neck.

She then headed outside. Seeing a fifth stage Rakshasa, with brown hair and black markings under his eyes, sitting there doing nothing, she called out to him.

"**Oy, what happened? I heard a commotion."**

The brown-haired boy jumped and quickly spun around.

**Ah, Sagara-nim! **the boy said, **I am sorry, I did not hear you come…**

"**Answer my question."**

**Yes! It seems Ananta-nim has come back, along with a Nastika from the Gandharva Clan. It looks like she will be staying in our territory for the time being, near that big hole south to Taksaka-nim's nest.**

Sagara stood stunned for a second.

"**What?! But why?!"**

**It seemed to be a private thing, but I overheard rumors about hiding things, sweets and kings- **The Rakshasa answered dismissively.

He could say no more, though, for the furious Nastika had gone.

**Wait, Sagara-nim, you don't even know who-**

* * *

_D1, Nest of The Destruction Dragon Taksaka, Sura Realm_

**Um, Vasuki-nim? **

The Rakshasa asked timidly to a man with blood-red eyes.

Said Vasuki wore a thin black jacket over a dark gray shirt. This was complemented by black pants with a chain hanging from his belt. Chains also hung from his wrists, just above his jacket sleeves. The famous vertical lines on his face made him recognizable without doubts.

"**Hmm? What is it? Do I know you?"**

**Well… Not really, but I'm worried about something concerning Sagara-nim and I thought you would be the best one to ask to... I'm sorry to bother-**

"**Sagara?" **

Vasuki's attention was instantly aroused at the Rakshasa's words.

"**Did something happen to her? Tell me."**

**I don't believe anything has happened yet, but I fear she might be in trouble. Have you heard of Leviathan-nim's arrival on our territory?**

"**Levi? Yes, I heard. She came in person to say hello, and that's the reason for that hole in the mountain. Tak got scared~"**

"**Huia?"** A tall, teenage boy with four red horns interjected.

Until then he had simply observed from the shadows, his short brown hair, gray sweater and gray-blue pants only helping his invisibility. His voice made the Rakshasa jump again.

"**Yes, Tak?" **Answered Vasuki to his nickname.

"**Would you mind stopping before I lose my temper? And, didn't that boy imply your beloved female was in danger?"**

"**Right. So tell me, boy: What's wrong with Levi and Sagara?"**

**Well, **the said boy continued hesitantly, **she was curious about the ruckus that Leviathan-nim's arrival made, and I told her an overview of the situation, but she left before I could mention who it was that had come. I think she misunderstood something… And she headed to Leviathan-nim's new lair.**

Silence passed as Vasuki remembered how distressed, sad and unstable Leviathan had seemed when he met her, despite her attempts to hide it. If Sagara actually found her and aggressed her in that state… That would most definitely _not_ be safe. Her sura-morph was much slower than Levi's and the power gap was rather large, so she would die in seconds.

A cold sweat began to chill Vasuki's back.

He promptly stood.

"**Tak, I'm leaving. Stay calm while I'm not here, okay?"**

And the next moment, he was gone.

The Rakshasa stayed there hesitantly for a moment until he decided to leave- but Taksaka's question stopped him.

"**There is something I don't understand, Rakshasa. Why do you even care?"**asked Taksaka.

The boy jumped again, blushed, and ran away.

"**I see."**

_To be continued~_


	4. How it started- 4

**Short chapter, I know.**

**And here's the end of the "How it started" arc.**

**Next chapter will include a time skip!**

* * *

_D1, On the Way to Leviathan's Lair, Sura Realm_

Vasuki sped towards Levi's lair faster than humanly possible. He practically flew over the land, covering miles in mere seconds.

In the four seconds it took him to arrive, his mind was filled with horrible scenarios.

_Sagara lying dead, literally shredded into pieces._

_A pool of blood and a hair tie stained scarlet, with a leaf-like decoration on it._

_Or, hopefully, two Nastika still fighting._

But since his journey only lasted four seconds, Vasuki couldn't get past the rule of three.

He heard some voices from a cave close to a gaping hole that would be used as a landmark in years to come.

Levi's voice. And then, Sagara's scream.

"**Sagara!"**

_D1, Random Beach, Planet Carte_

"**Che. Why me, seriously?"**

A blue-haired man asked. He seemed in a bad mood.

"**Because you lost at rock-paper-scissors. Suck it up and..."**

"**Be a good loser, I know."** answered Urvasi to the golden-eyed bit… woman.

"**I still have no clue of where she went. For the last few years she spent all her time on Gresvan, and now that this planet's gone…"**Complained the man.

"**What about you try Willarv?"**the woman suggested. "**I heard that was a nice place. Maybe she'll be there. It's the closest planet, no?"**

"**I suppose it's worth trying… Levi loves humans, she could be among them. I guess I'll take a look."**

Completely ignoring the fact that Levi's interest lay in staying as far from Gandharva as possible, Urvasi departed to Willarv, the closest planet to the former's current location.

_D1, Levi's New Lair, Sura Realm_

"**Sagara!"**

Vasuki burst inside the lair with a panicked voice. The worst scenarios came back…

"**That's called stalking, Vasuki."**

A young blue-eyed girl turned to him with surprised eyes.

Sagara, a dropped, fuming pan at her feet, glared at him with disdain in the middle of a fully-equipped kitchen.

_How in the world did they fit a kitchen in a cave?_

_D1, Five Minutes Earlier, Leviathan's Lair, Sura realm_

Approaching the lair the Rakshasa had talked about, Sagara started to slow down.

Her initial anger was receding, and the more she thought about it... She had to admit she may have gotten mad for nothing.

"_**hiding things, sweets and kings"...**_

_Gah… Whatever this is really about it's pissing me off._

That's about the time she noticed some light streaming from the cave.

_What the hell?_

Upon arrival she suddenly stopped, shocked. The rock walls were pretty much all that remained from the original place. A kitchen had been built in the entrance, and doors had somehow been fixed on the various holes leading to the other parts of the cave.

In short, a fully-equipped modern house was sitting in the middle of the sura realm.

_Who… Who did this?_

"**Sagara? Long time no see! I wasn't expecting you, though. I'm making chocolate, want some?" **A blue eyed shrimp spoke.

"**Leviathan? It's you who… Wait, what's chocolate?"**

Said shrimp recoiled in shock.

"**You don't know? Even Ananta loves those! My poor little Sagara, how could you live all these years without chocolate?!"**

And that's how the tiny blue shrimp started teaching the equally tiny blue snake how to cook.

_To be continued~_


	5. The Festival- 1

**I am very sorry for lateness.**

**Winter holidays keep me busy (read: the more time I have, the less I work)**

**Well, here it is... Probably no chapter before a small while though.**

* * *

_D5, Surrounding Wall, Atera, Planet Willarv_

The god Agni was sitting on the wall of the human city of fire and destruction, Atera.

However, it was surprisingly calm. The newly-installed barrier system (Idea Visnu© and realization Brahma©) made the humans feel safe and sound. The planets inhabited by humans were carefully be protected by Gods due to their still new alliance, so no need to fear another Gresvan incident.

Thus, humans were throwing a big anniversary festival, and Agni was wondering whether or not he should go.

Pro:

It would be fun

He would be less bored

They might have dried persimmon

He hadn't been to a party in centuries

Con:

He was supposed to look out for sura

He really shouldn't take the risk of getting drunk

They might not have dried persimmon

He'd get scolded (internally, because blasphemy and stuff, but it made no difference for a mind-reading god) by his summoner (who already left for said festival)

He might bump into other gods and he didn't want to deal with his (probably drunk) holy fangirls and fanboys

That very last argument gave him cold sweats.

_I guess con wins then..._

…

…

…

_Screw it, I guess it's fine if I have a little fun right? What's the worst that could happen? Bumping into a couple of undercover Nastika?_

* * *

_D5, Red-Paved Street, Atera, Planet Willarv_

The festival was spectacular. Ornamented banners were hung everywhere, colorful balloons had been attached to every possible surfaces (children's wrists included) and danced simultaneously in the wind, stalls offering diverse foods and various objects were in every possible street and alley. Said streets and alleys were so crowded that magicians offered flights or teleports to avoid the masses and gain some money. The merchandise, Agni noticed, was sometimes up to twice its usual price, but in the enthusiastic fervour of the people, no one seemed to notice nor did they care.

Actually, the one thing that really bothered Agni at the moment was that his insight was playing tricks on him. He couldn't walk two steps without meeting someone's eye, and the flood of pasts, presents, and futures was giving him headaches.

Nevertheless, he decided to enjoy this as much as possible. His summoner, the fire priest, was seventeen and had already left to a random bar. Agni wasn't worried- As long as he stayed within the bounds of the sura-proof barrier, he'd be safe. Not even a Nastika could sneak i-

_!_

The God of fire suddenly turned around, on guard. His elbow smashed into a passerby, knocking the child to the ground. In the time it took him to apologize the two suspicious figures were gone, absorbed by the crowd.

_Did I dream? I thought… No, impossible, we're inside of the city… Could they really find a loophole in just five years? I must have been mistaken…_

_Whatever. It's party time._

_That's going to be a fun day, _he thought.

* * *

_D5, Outside The Checkpoint, Atera, Planet Willarv_

A Quarter magician in his sixties was chatting with a couple girls.

His name was Lucen Sairofe.

He seemed agitated. The older girl looked plain annoyed, while the younger tried to appease him. Her smile said something along the lines of "Of course we won't cause trouble" but he was still worried.

Lucen knew the youngest girl from a while back, she was a friend of his. But, he, the sponsor, had to pay for the damage caused if they did something wrong.

And, the more he looked at his friend's friend, the more worried he was.

But fate's wheel wouldn't stop every time it was convenient for him, and they went ahead.

_That's going to be a stressful day,_ he thought.

* * *

_D5, Red-Paved Alley, Atera, Planet Willarv_

The two girls were walking in an alley perpendicular to Agni's street, trying to avoid pickpockets and floating balloons.

Both of them were rather short, but the younger-looking one was slightly taller than her companion.

"**Could you remind me how we ended up here?" **she asked.

She had a beautiful voice, but her angry tone ruined it.

" **I heard about this party, and since I was bored I suggested we both came. You didn't want to, I gently convinced you, and you gave up." **Answered the tallest, a blue eyed, white haired teen."**We were sponsored by this old friend of mine, and here we are. Do you have amnesia?" **

The young girl's white ponytail would designate her as a Quarter, as they contrasted sharply with her bright eyes. She wore a white T-shirt, a light pink jacket, light blue jeans and sport shoes.

"**No, I don't. And you didn't **_**gently convince**_ **me, you **_**blackmailed**_ **me." **Replied the teased girl with an half-annoyed, half-amused voice. "**Why do you keep changing, by the way? Isn't that a little bothersome?" **

"**No… It's more like, I'm wondering why **_**you**_ **never change. Don't you ever get bored of having the same appearance all the time?" **asked the teen to her companion.

The vertical pupils of said companion would designate her as a Half, but no other sura part was visible.

"**I don't. I'm pretty like this. And, I do change hairstyles, right?"**

The unexpected answer made Leviathan smile. She nodded silently, considering the long pigtails of her interlocutor. She did wear a ponytail before.

Something then caught her attention.

"**Sagara, check that out. It's curry-flavored ice-cream!"**

Sagara followed, groaning; but she had a hard time refraining from smiling.

_That's going to be an entertaining day,_ she thought.

_D5, A Few Meters Behind, Red-Paved Street, Atera, Planet Willarv_

"**Looks like they haven't noticed us yet. Good." **said a young boy who was hiding at the corner of the street.

He had long, black disheveled hair and dark skin. His eyes were emerald green and he was wearing suspicious black clothes that could have been mistaken for a ninja's.

Several faint black lines could be seen on his face.

"**Aren't you going a little over-the-top, Vasuki?" **a fifteen-years old boy asked. He was drinking milk with a straw, and his four red horns and reddish skin stood out against his dark brown hair and eyes. His tone was monotone, but he seemed slightly annoyed. "**Isn't this stalking? She's going to get a restraining order if you don't lay off…"**

"**Shut up! Be quiet, they'll hear us! And it's not stalking, it's **_**making sure she's safe**_**. There's a difference." **Answered the disguised Vasuki.

"**That's still stalking…" **Taksaka whispered before he gritted his teeth and returned to his meal.

_It's going to be a looooong day, _he thought.

_To be continued~_


	6. The Festival- 2

**I thought I'd be late, but no.**

**Longest chapter so far! And we're finally moving on a bit with the plot.**

**A glimpse of Levi's thoughts as well.**

**Oh,and the story Levi evoked is "Sodom and Gomorrah".**

**Have fun reading!**

* * *

_D5, Red-Paved Alley, Atera, Planet Willarv_

"**Hey, Levi. What's this?"**

Sagara had grabbed a few rubber bouncy balls.

"**Oy. Are you buying that? If you don't, would you mind giving it back?"**

_The vendor's in a bad mood…_

"**Sagara, you just can't pick up anything that catches your attention… Maybe just touch with your eyes?"**

Sagara royally ignored the vendor. "**Why?"**

"**What do you mean why… It's not yours, that's all. If you damage it you'll have to pay, so..."**

"**You didn't answer my question though?"**

"**They're meant to be played with… You make them bounce, catch them, and bounce them again."**

"**Isn't that a bit stupid?"**

"**I think you're just too old for that… Give them back, ok?"**

The two Nastika continued their walk for a while- although they couldn't go more than ten meters in ten minutes because Sagara stopped and asked what this or that was at each and every shop.

"**What's that?"**

"**A clay pot. You can put plants in there, to carry around or decorate."**

"**And this?"**

"**That… Cookie jar. To put cookies in..."**

"**Right, I saw some in the kitchen before. This?"**

"**A lampshade. To make light less bright."**

"**This?"**

"**A shovel. To dig out dirt."**

"**And this?"**

"**A pen. To write things…"**

"**Right. I saw some before, but they were feathery… and this?"**

"**A paint brush… Since when had you not come to the human realm, by the way?"**

"**A few thousands of years at most… Why?"**

"**..."**

* * *

_D5, A Few Meters Behind, Red-Paved Street, Atera, Planet Willarv_

Vasuki, still hiding at a corner, peaked at the two girls.

"**Looks like Sagara's having fun… No problem so far."**

"**Huia, do we really need to do this? Don't you think Levi's enough of a bodyguard? She may be weaker than you and me, but she's still strong enough to hold off Gandharva for a while, remember? That and, she's more suited than us to fight here without too much collateral damage."**

"**..." **

Taksaka had finished his milk and was looking for a trashcan.

"**Huia?"**

Tak clenched his fists, reducing the milk bottles into dust.

"**Huiiiiia…? Mind not ignoring me?" **

"**Tak, shush. There's something… I thought I saw… No."**

"**What's wrong?" **He grew more and more annoyed by the second.

"**Tak, who are the gods of this city?"**

_The gods? Why is Huia asking something as trivial as this?_

"**Well, it's the city of Destruction and Fire… I don't see Shiva coming here, so at worst it's Agni or Marut. Why, what did you see? Not that it'd be a danger to us anyway… A god wouldn't start a fight in the middle of a city, right?"**

* * *

_D5, A Few Meters Behind, Red-Paved Street, Atera, Planet Willarv_

Agni watched the two figures converse a few meters away.

_What's with my luck today..? At this rate I might die before I get to enjoy the festival._

_What do they want? _

_And what's with that guy's sketchy clothes?! He looks like a stalker…_

_Wait.  
They're talking about the city's Gods._

_Did they notice me?_

_Better get outta here._

_They don't seem to lust after destroying Atera anyway… It should be safer to leave them be at this point._

* * *

_D5, A Few Meters Behind, Red-Paved Street, Atera, Planet Willarv_

"**Who did you see really?"**

"**Tak. It must've been my imagination, don't worry."**

"**I'm not worrying. I can't worry. Now tell me."**

"**..."**

* * *

_D5, Random Beach, Planet Halmut_

A man stand on a frozen beach of the desertic planet of snow and ice.

He didn't seem bothered by the cold, but he did look annoyed.

"**So annoying. I miss so much stuff to look for her… Looks like she's not here either. I heard Gandharva and Menaka are dating now too… So frustrating!"**

* * *

_D5, A Few Meters Behind, Red-Paved Street, Atera, Planet Willarv_

"**Huia?" **Tak asked after a short silence.

* * *

_D5, Random Beach, Planet H_

"**Narrator-nim you little idiot. Just say already. Otherwise I'm breathing fire on you."**

"**Hmm, Tak? Who are you talking to?"**

"**The author. I swear she's even more annoying than Currygom sometimes. Now tell me who you saw."**

"**Ah… I think I saw Visnu stalking Levi and Sagara. But I could've been mistaken… It makes no sense for him to be here. Not until something happens with these two…" **

Vasuki's expression changed, and for a split second his face was marred by a fierce expression.

"**He dares stalk my Sagara..."**

_Isn't that exactly what you're doing right now, Huia..?_

* * *

_D5, Red-Paved Alley, Atera, Planet Willarv_

"**Geez, isn't this party a bit boring? All we've done is look at some shops..."**

_You mean, you've been dancing around, picking up everything remotely fun you saw, and now you're complaining that you're bored? Come on, Sagara._

Leviathan sighed and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

Of course, she couldn't say that. Sagara was her friend, no matter how selfish she could be sometimes.

Well, their "friendship" had astonished many in the Ananta clan. It started with the cooking lessons- Levi was feeling really down, and she tried to make some chocolate flavored sweets.

Chocolate is, after all, the best food to raise your spirits.

Sagara bursted in, Leviathan ended up giving her some, and Sagara asked to learn to make sweets.

_For Ananta, I suppose. _

Since then five long years had passed- at least they seemed long to Leviathan, despite the abyss of time and events that separated her from her own birth.

Not much had happened during that time- kitchens exploded, toxic fumes from Sagara's attempts at cooking, stalking and a few pranks- nothing much really.

She mentally nodded.

Then she frowned. A couple of passersby were discussing a excursion against "heretics"...

Humans had betrayed them, but she had noticed that it was the _majority_ of humans -not the entire race.

On their way here she had caught sight of a small village, and a revelation soon hit her- some humans kept their faith in the sura despite the loss of their trademark fiendish magic.

Not that there were that many worshippers in the first place, but there were _some_.

What did that human book -The Bible, was it?- say again?

A story about a couple cities being saved if only only ten good people lived in it…

Well, in that story there weren't enough good people, and the "good ones" just fled the flames. Also one of them turned into salt. But this was a different anyway.

She didn't believe in "good" or "bad", either.

As long as there was just one human who believed in them… Who could see past the hypocrisy of the gods… Who wanted to rebel against their unfair blackmail… Who realized they weren't left a choice, and still chose to stand…

Then she would keep faith in them as well.

"**Levi, are you in there?"**asked Sagara.

The "young girl" jumped and turned to her friend.

"**Sorry. I zoned out. You were saying?"**

"**For how long do you think I should ignore Vasuki's obvious stalking?"**

_Until he gives up? He does this out of worry._

"**Well. That's your choice to make. I wonder how they got in, though."**Leviathan made a short pause, trying to change the subject. "**If it weren't for Lucen, we would've had trouble entering…The checkpoints would've sent us to outer space. I'm pretty sure neither him nor Taksaka know any human magicians… And we were lucky they needed the vegetables for the party."**

_Not that vegetables are that bad. Of course they give us seizures, but at least if they're cooked properly, they taste great. _

"**Maybe they knocked out a magician and claimed he was their drunk sponsor?"**Suggested the short, pretty woman.

"**No way it'd work, Sagara. Humans are not that naive... I hope..."**

* * *

_D5, A Few Meters Behind, Red-Paved Street, Atera, Planet Willarv_

Vasuki yawned, then stretched.

"**By the way, Tak, where did you leave that magician we knocked out?"**

"**Hid him behind a bin."**

"**That's harsh."**

"**You're not one to talk, Huia."**

Someone smirked in the dark, behind them.

Someone whose bangs covered the eyes.

Someone who whispered so low no one heard his words.

"**Let's see which choice you will make. What will happen, I wonder…Destroyer of Minds."**

_To be continued~_


	7. The Festival- 3

**Here I go! New chapter, yay! On time, even!**

**I checked the stats and to my surprise, there's a lot more people reading than I expected.**

**Which is good. **

**So what about leaving a review, huh?**

**Sagara got some character development in response of Ashes (and a few others) not liking her that much... I hope I did it right.**

**Enjoy~**

* * *

_D5, Red-Paved Alley, Atera, Planet Willarv_

Sagara looked at Levi, who was dozing off.

Her friend frequently seemed to drift off- like only half of her was in her body, the other half running off to who knows where.

And she wondered. Why? What was she thinking?

She had frequently asked herself this question- she never really knew what Levi was thinking. It bothered her. She could be cheerful, naughty, wary; she could act like a five years old and blabber non-stop, and the next day shut her mouth for hours with an old, sad expression that seemed to depress air itself.

The first moments she came to know Leviathan, she was angry. No, to be honest with herself, she was jealous. She had never gotten Ananta to notice her, had hardly ever had a real conversation with him in all those millions, billions of years by his side- And a half-baked midget _from another clan _managed to get his attention just like this, yet alone convince him to face trouble for her?

Of course what she had heard before meeting Levi was terribly vague, and the wildest scenarios had burst into her mind. Upon reaching her cave, she was too shocked to feel angry, at least for a while.

The midget -she kept thinking about her like this in spite of the fact their height were pretty similar, mostly because of the way the blue shrimp often acted like a child- went on about something called "chocolate" and quickly Sagara had forgotten why she had initially come. She had gotten caught up in the other Nastika's enthusiasm, as weird as it seemed. Then Vasuki had burst in and his worried voice had gotten her back to eart- the sura realm. She had answered sharply, because he had stalk- _followed_ her, and because, well, as hard as it was to admit… He had interrupted her fun. Levi made her realize that the moment they became close: She did not have "fun" very often, and Levi quickly decided to remedy this.

Cue to her forcing -no, blackmailing- her into that stupid festival. Not that it wasn't fun -practically everything she saw was fun, interesting, or downright weird, but new in any case- but she didn't really see the point of her having fun.

That's what she had asked before they departed.

"**Because you should enjoy what you have as much as possible. You know like me that you can't tell how precious to you something is until it's gone forever… Don't you?"**

As they both had lost enough to agree on that, the blue-haired Nastika nodded, but she wasn't sure what Levi was referring to.

That, and she still didn't know why she had been forced to flee from Gandharva.

All she knew (from Vasuki) was that she had fought with him right after Gresvan was destroyed- and that was all.

So, why? Sagara wanted to know what her friend was hiding.

Whenever she had asked during the first year, Levi had either changed the subject or downright ran away (resulting in an epic chase around their territory ending with Taksaka's dragon breath but that was another story). Then after a while, something had changed. Levi's "dark" moments had become shorter and sparser, and she became even more cheerful- but some more abnormalities had shown.

She sometimes could not recall why she had done some things during that first year. Sometimes could not even recall that she had done them in the first place. She cried in her sleep -Levi enjoyed sleeping and did it very often- but had no memory of her dreams, or nightmares for the matter. Her depressed moments came to her much less often, but when they did and Sagara asked, Levi was unable to tell why she felt sad all of sudden. She also kept some junk with her and she remained, by her own confession, unable to explain why she had them and why she couldn't bring herself to throw them away, even though seeing them often triggered sadness. Most of those were human items or even toys or clothes for little children.

Sagara was completely in the dark on this one. She had ruled out Alzheimer since Nastika were immune against such disease, and the clueless Levi was honest without doubts in her confusion.

Not knowing had never annoyed Sagara so much before, and she soon grew slightly obsessed in her quest to find out.

She couldn't really tell why, though. It wasn't a feeling she was familiar with, but as she had sworn to be honest to herself, she _had_ to admit… She may have grown attached to Levi. Why though? Their personalities were polar opposites, as many had remarked. When? She could not tell. Since the first day or after Levi's "transformation"?

One thing Sagara knew for sure, though, is that Levi was attached to her. She considered herself Sagara's friend and she had tried many time to help her, even as stress-relief. Hell, she had even once told her she'd be happy to show her some martial arts, in case she needed to fight in human form.

So to her "when" and "why" she added another question: Why did Levi want to be her friend?

Levi did have friends, even in Sagara's clan; she was somehow friends with Vasuki and, to a lesser degree, Ananta, so why would she befriend Sagara? Because she pitied her for clinging on power? Because she was afraid her weaker neighbor would die without protection and that her death would make Vasuki sad? Because they were both really short? Or was it something else?

The one time she had asked, she only had gotten a cryptic answer.

"**I despise revenge… And I want to help you now because I believe I can prevent you from choosing it. I don't want you to die… I don't want you to suffer more than necessary," **her friend has said.

"**You sound like Visnu."** Her friend's words made her nervous for some reason. "**What did he tell you? What would I chose revenge for?"**

"**I don't sound like Visnu… Visnu said it was meaningless to try. And that's the reason I'm your friend."**

Sagara could not understand what those words meant. But she somehow could tell from Levi's tone, that there was a compliment hidden in that riddle.

Sagara peeked at her companion. She was still daydreaming, a slight frown on her face.

"**Where do you want to go, now?"**

_No answer._

"**Levi, are you in there?" **She asked.

Levi jumped. _Really wasn't listening. What was she thinking about?_

"**Sorry. I zoned out. You were saying?"**

"**When should I stop ignoring Vasuki's stalking?"**

_Not what I was saying… But that's a matter that needs to be addressed._

"**Well. That's your choice to** **make."**answered the Gandharva Nastika, sounding like Visnu again.** "I wonder how they got in, though. If it weren't for Lucen, we would've had trouble entering…The checkpoints would've sent us to outer space. I'm pretty sure neither him nor Taksaka know any human magicians… And we were lucky they needed the vegetables for the party."**

_I guess we were…_

Sagara shuddered at the thought of the Vegeterrible test.

A thought came across her mind.

"**Maybe they knocked out a magician and claimed he was their drunk sponsor?"**

"**No way it'd work, Sagara."**

"**If you say so…" **She paused then continued, "**Well, where should we go, now?"**

"**Meet up with our sponsor and maybe eat a snack?"** suggested the blue shrimp.

_Right. That quarter, Lucen, told us to meet him at that bar… How was it called? The-_

Sagara tripped and accidentally bumped into Levi.

_Tripping over my own feet? I should be ashamed of being a Nastika… But how's that bar freackin called again?_

"**The Creaky Cauldron. We're almost there, Sagara. Next street, see?"**

* * *

_The Creaky Cauldron, Atera, Planet Willarv_

Lucen Sairofe looked worriedly at the door. A few people were sitting at the bar:

\- A beautiful brown-haired woman, with striking yellow eyes, who wore a revealing white dress. She appeared to be whining about something involving "renounce and cute"… She was probably a half, since she had a tail. She had arrived before he did, and from the pile of bottles on her table, long before.

\- Another woman, Slightly younger, wearing rather… Loose clothing. Her bangs covered her eyes. She was sipping a Budlarv Original. Lucen could not remember when she had arrived. Probably before him, although he hadn't seen her before.

\- A young man, maybe around seventeen, whom he recognized as the Priest of Fire. He had brown hair, and already seemed drunk in spite of it being early in the night. He had arrived ahead of him as well.

And the bartender, a Quarter with red eyes and orange hair. He was beginning to doze off.

Then another couple of people came in. Not Levi and her Half friend as he had hoped, but a Half and… either another Half or a Quarter. The Half had reddish skin and four red horns, in his teens, while his friend of similar apparent age had dark skin, black hair and sharp emerald green eyes. The latter's clothes were dark and suspicious- almost like a stalker's. They sat in a corner of the room, and the loose-clothed woman giggled inexplicably, almost spilling her drink.

He jumped as the bell rang another time. He turned and immediately recognized his two... friends.

The woman placed her elbows on the table and set her chin on her hands as she cracked a small smile.

"**Right. All the actors are gathered on the stage… Now the fun play begins."**

_To be continued~_


	8. The Festival- 4

**Hi! Sorry for lateness...**

**Not much to say. Except I had fun writing this. I hope you enjoy it as well...**

**Why not leave a review?**

* * *

_D2, Hell, God Realm_

"**I believe you owe me an explanation… Don't you, Visnu?"**

The young woman's question interrupted his trail of thought.

The land was barren, pitch-black rocks covered in ash gleaming softly in the red glow of lava rivers. The sky was orange with the same dusk-like light that nimbed the ground near the horizon, but grew darker towards the center of the sky-much like a domed ceiling.

There was only two living things there, and they were talking to each other.

The first one was a man with old-golden bangs that covered his eyes. His usually laid-back expression was spoiled by a slight frown, and his loose clothes seemed slightly crumpled- as if someone had grabbed his collar some time before so hard that it had left a mark.

The second one was a purple-haired woman with an impressive… Chest area. Her hair was loose over her back, and she wore very revealing purple clothes. Her pink eyes glowed with fierce anger, and her sharp expression was even scarier due to the fact she was not chewing bubblegum like she usually did.

Their names were respectively Visnu and Brahma, two of the oldest beings in the universe.

"**How could you be that foolhardy?" **Her calm tone contrasted her hostile words, but it was clear she was holding herself back from leaping at her companion.

"**Foolhardy? Aren't you exaggerating?" **Visnu tried, but even he didn't seemed convinced.

"**Visnu. You know I respect your choice of randomly revealing your insights, even if I prefer not to. But how could you let something like that happen? Not just that it almost killed her- You know there was no way she could be ready for something like that! - but now that she saw it all… Knowledge is dangerous. Kali is already enough of a troublemaker. Not to mention the feud between Astika and Sura we have to keep from destroying everything ever. Why add another variable now? She's too young to understand that interference will only make things worse… Or maybe it's not just a question of age, because you don't seem to realize that, either."**

Visnu took the opportunity of the small second Brahma needed to breathe to speak.

"**Brahma, I understand your point of view. But I'm suppose to preserve the universe. I just can't let things happen… It's not like you just stand there and do nothing, either. You created numerous things for humans to survive."**

"**Because you asked me. Do not try to change the subject. I thought you knew what was better, but now I'm starting to have doubts. There's no way you wouldn't have seen it coming. She was about to kill you, too…"**

Something seemed to strike Brahma as she spoke. Visnu stood there wordlessly, watching her vehemence dwindle.

"**Don't tell me… You saw that was the only freaking way that she would not destroy you?! That makes no sense. I know she's stubborn… But you could've just avoided her until she forgot."**

"**She wouldn't have. You're the one who created her, we both know that: She would not have given up before finding me one way or another. She was only planning to hold herself back until she could move around freely again... Going to find her directly was the best way to avoid too much damage being done. I had no other choice."**

"**... I see. What did you tell her? Surely you didn't let her run around with that knowledge?"**

"**Of course not. Although… I was surprised by her decision. I guess she really loves them…"**

"**Who?"**

"**Those that she loves."**

Brahma sighed. She felt like the conversation was running astray again.

"**She did ask a favor out of me, in exchange for not openly blabbering about what she saw. That'll wait a while… So it's not an immediate problem. Not even a problem, actually. She just asked me to save a life… Discretely." **

"**Save a life? I guess we're lucky she's not a wicked child. Maybe you should look out, though. It was your mistake… You take care of it."**

* * *

_D5, The Creaky Cauldron, Atera, Planet Willarv_

"**Lucen! Hi."**

"**Gods, I haven't seen you all day. Hello, Levi, Sagara." **answered the sponsor, slightly reassured to see his friend back in his line of sight. _Where she's not as likely to cause trouble._

Sagara only looked at him, but didn't answer while Levi gave him a warm smile.

_It's funny how different they act. They are both the exact same age. Yet..._

_Levi usually acts the age her appearance implies, while Sagara is so adult-like (okay… More like bossy…) you could think she's mentally in her twenties… Although she doesn't seem to know much about civilization_, Lucen reflected while Levi explained her friend how a bar worked.

The woman with bangs looked their way and seemed about to roll on the floor. Maybe she was already drunk. However possible with one glass of Budlarv.

The one with a white dress was still drinking. The pile of bottles next to her was astoundingly high.

"**Five years,"**said the barman as he caught Lucen's stare.

"**What?"**

"**She's been since right before the barriers were installed. Hasn't moved since then. She gave me a gem as payment, but I guess I shouldn't have told her that it was enough for ten years worth of drinks."**

_No wonder she arrived before I did._

"**What about the other clients?"**

"**Well, that woman over here, that's the first time I see her… But the priest comes here quite often. What about you? Who are these young ladies with you?"**

"**That's… A long story." **Lucen answered, eyeing the two girls, still chatting.

"**Well, isn't that what a bar is for?" **asked the barman with an "innocent" smile.

"**I'm pretty sure it's not…"**

He observed the Half/ Quarter? pair from earlier through the mirror. The green-eyed boy was shamelessly staring at Sagara, who hadn't seem to notice, while his friend just slurped milk looking bored.

"**Well. To make a long story short… I met Levi, the blue-eyed one, a few years ago. Twenty years ago, actually."**

"**Twenty? She must've been a little kid back then, no?"**

"**She looked around ten years old… Doesn't look like one, but she's a Half. Ten years old-looking but still pretty damn strong. I'm not sure how she did it but she chased a Gandharva Upani while I was injured. Then she took me to a healer saying she had nothing else to do, and we bonded over candy."**

The barman took a little taken gobsmacked. It wasn't exactly a common story.

Well, maybe Lucen's storytelling skills were part of it as well.

"**I was already an adult back then, but I was kind of weak on the practical combat side...**

**Well. I bumped into her and Sagara, her friend, just yesterday. Neither of them have IDs so I ended up sponsoring them. That's the story."**

"**Pretty uncommon, I guess…"**

Meanwhile, after Levi had finished her explanation and Sagara had finished insisting it was a stupid system, the latter voiced her discontent.

"**No, seriously. Can't we just do something about these stalkers? I feel like Vasuki is trying to bore a hole in my back."**

_To be continued~_


	9. The Festival- 5

**Ok, so lots of craziness here. Have fun!**

**The end might seem a bit... Too fast... But it did happen fast, so not much choice for that...**

**Sorry.**

**Edit: I really didn't like it, so it was re-written. It's better, now.**

**Enjoy~**

* * *

_D5, The Creaky Cauldron, Atera, Planet Willarv_

"**Huia, take a drink." **Tak started.

"**Why should I?"**

"**Nothing's happening. The readers will get bored."**

"**The what?"**

"**You getting drunk will bring them some more fun."**

"**But to who?"**

"**..."**

"**Tak…?"**

"**Just leave it. Let it go~"**

"**Tak? What's in that milk?"**

"**..."**

"**Tak!"**

Sagara looked other at Vasuki's table. She had an empty glass in her hand, and Lucen was already snoring. Levi, though, insisted she only wanted juice. Some of the other patrons often glanced at them, especially the woman, who now seemed a bit gender-ambiguous. Just slightly. Looked totally like Visnu's female form, actually.

She felt kind of dizzy as she watched Vasuki and Taksaka argue. It was actually kind of funny, so she started to giggle.

Levi gave her a worried look at put her hand on Sagara's shoulder.

"**Sagara?"**

"**Hmm?"**

"**How many fingers are there?"**

"**On you? Twenty?"**

"**Not what I meant… Are you okay? You seem a little… Uh…"**

"**A little what?"**

"**Drunk..?"**

"**Hell no! It's only my… Sixth glass?"**

"**I counted. Seventeenth. Maybe you should stop..."**

"**..."**

"**Sagara, please," **Levi continued as she turned Sagara around to have the red-eyed Nastika face her, hands on her shoulders, "**you know it's not a very good idea-"**

"**OI! STAY AWAY FROM HER!" **

Tak high-fived someone only he could see and another (?) popcorn appeared from thin air.

Levi turned her head just fast enough to distinguish a flushed Vasuki before he tried to kick her out of her chair. Seems like he had indeed drank something. Whatever it was, it must've been particularly strong alcohol.

Vasuki was the second-ranked in the Ananta clan. Due to Levi's rather pacifistic nature, her exact strength was unclear, as she always refused to fight for no reason, but she was without doubt weaker than second rank. To add to that, she was currently in her weaker female form, while Vasuki was in his stronger male from. Add to this the surprise effect and you'll understand Vasuki's confidence that his blow would land, even if there was two Levis. He had four legs to kick with anyway.

Which is why he was completely taken off guard when his head met Levi's punch. Said punch was much higher than where her head was a second ago. She had dodged and counter-attacked in less than a tenth of a second, jumping on her chair.

Nastika have good reflexes, but there was not much Vasuki could do in that position. Thus, Levi's blow hit and Vasuki's didn't.

"**She's fast." **Commented Taksaka in between two handful of popcorn. Popcorn was not a vegetable, rather a feculent, so it was tasty for him.

The woman whose bangs covered the eyes of was now barely holding onto her chair, laughing like crazy. The Yaksha "half" woman looked confused, but still got out of the way when Vasuki crashed on the floor, a single meter from her.

Actually, their confused looks were pretty identical.

The action lasted less than a second.

A heavy silence followed, only broken by the mysteriously-gender-ambiguous woman's giggling and Taksaka's munching sounds.

Sagara's "**What the hell?" **was rather demonstrative of the general feeling.

Levi was still standing on her chair.

Her expression was colder than Vasuki had ever seen. Even to him it sent chills down his spine, for some reason.

"**Vasuki, maybe you should sober up a bit?"**

"**Yoo, i'm completely soberrrr. I didn't even drink anything."**

"**That's complete bull. If you weren't drinking then, what were you doing?"**

"**I'm glad you asked. I just had some popcorn that tak-chan gave meeee. He can give you some if you want. Do you want some? You look like two unicorns. Are you unicorn Levis?"**

_Tak-chan? He must be in a really bad state if he starts using japanese honorifics._

At this instant, Sagara recovered from the shock and stepped on still-on-the-floor Vasuki.

"**How dare you stalk me!?" **

_Ah… She's drunk. Acting even more bossy than usual._

Levi lost interest while Sagara started beating Vasuki with her heels and returned to her orange juice.

She wasn't sure if orange juice was supposed to be bad for her health or not, but she didn't even care. Since D0, she felt numb all the time. Even chocolate tasted plain.

She started massaging her temples, her back turned to the noisy couple behind her.

She kind of feared it would end up with… Inappropriate stuff… happening, but at the same time… She didn't really care.

She had something to do. Something important.

She knew she'd probably fail.

Even if she erased _it_, the feeling still lingered. Looks like that transcendental couldn't work properly on herself. Damn. Or maybe it was because of something else. Should she ask Visnu? It's not like he… She... wasn't rolling on the floor laughing as Sagara and Vasuki bickered. She turned around to watch him… her… Visibly not in let's-talk-about-saving-the-universe mode.

Her attention returned to the woman with a tail. She was sure she had seen her somewh…

"**Prahara? What the hell are you doing here?"**

"**Levi? Oh, hi. These drinks sure are good, no..? Humans sure are cuuute."**

"**..."**

_Maybe I should just leave her alone. She looks fine… And oh well, she's still a Nastika._

"**Waaah. They're juuuust sooo cuuuute… Whyyyy…" **whined the Yaksha Nastika.

…

_I guess she'll be fine..?_

She looked around and considered the mess around her.

"**Hmm. Well. Sagara, maybe stop trampling Vasuki now, ok?" **Levi tried, "**And Vasuki, I think you should stop playing masochist. It's creepy."**

But she was ignored.

_Oh well. If it can reduce their UST… _she sighed.

She walked to Tak, seemingly Only Sane Man, avoiding the commotion and the snoring Lucen and priest, and sat by him.

"**Taksaka?"**

"**What?" **He answered, sounding pissed for some reason, in between munching sounds. Which was pretty typical of him, mind you.

"**Where did that popcorn come from?"**

"**The author gave it to me."**

"**Who..?"**

"**You wouldn't understand."**

"**Oi. Explain."**

"**Let it go~" **He started singing. His voice was pretty horrid and his mouth was full...

"**Taksaka..?" **Levi was a little worried here.

"**Leave me alone. You're annoying."**

_Must be something inside that popcorn... I need to investigate this-_

A loud explosion made Levi jump.

This evening was certainly entertaining, but she felt a headache poking its nose as it went.

An orange-haired man had just barged in, and the barman was behind him. Ah, she thought that someone was missing. Looking around, it seemed like Visnu was gone as well... The barman had probably been scared by Sagara. The thought would have made her smile if she hadn't recognized the man.

Seems like the barman had gone looking for help... And brought back a god.

The occupants of the Creaky Cauldron now counted Agni in addition to Sagara still trying to flatten Vasuki like a curry crepe, Vasuki still screaming (but he somehow seemed to be enjoying himself, sending cold chills down Levi's spine. What the hell did "Theothor" put in those popcorn?), Taksaka still munching, and the two humans still snoring.

Not that she cared this instant. That man was Agni, King of Hell.

She was glaring at Agni with enough killing intent to actually make him turn toward her, as he was eyeing Sagara and Vasuki with an ashamed expression before.

Levi was burning with anger. So much it worried Agni, so it would probably soon be a literal thing.

She had never really forgiven him for what he had done. The first time had been an accident, as infuriating as it was. But...

_Not once, but twice. _

Levi shuddered.

_You gods are unfair. It's your fault..._

She gritted her teeth, but her feet felt rotten to the ground.

_The first you killed, and now the second you... It's your fault. They suffer, they die and it's your fault._

She wanted to kill him. Again. And painfully. As little rational as it seemed.

Nathan's and Nasha's deaths five years before had revived her vendetta. Nathan, at the extreme limit she could understand. He had done it on his own accord... It was unfair, but comprehensible.

But Nasha? He was innocent. A child who had not chosen his fate. And he was sent to hell... Because of who he was.

That was unfair.

She leaped at the fire god, so fast the movement looked instantaneous...

...And stumbled in a grassy field.

* * *

_D5, ?_

"**What?"**

"**That was a close call, Levi. I can't let you destroy human cities carelessly…"**

The man who had spoken smiled at her. His bangs prevented her from seeing his eyes, by Levi had no problem recognizing Visnu.

* * *

_D5, The Creaky Cauldron, Atera, Planet Willarv_

Agni looked at the scenery before him.

Everything had changed before anyone could realize what was going on. An unknown Nastika tried to attack him… And they all disappeared.

That was just strange.

The only ones remaining were his summoner and an another snoring man. They were both unscathed, at least.

Agni concluded it must've been Visnu's doing. It was his style. A fight here would have destroyed Atera...

And oh well, at least he got to enjoy the festival.

_To be continued~_


	10. The Festival- 6

**Ok, so I'm _extremely_ sorry for my lateness.**

**The thing is, as it happens often, RL is messing with out timetables. But this is not on hiatus. No worries about this.**

**As for the song, I'm sorry if it's a little lame... I wrote it, haha. I'm not that good with this.**

**At least, there are actually answers here! A break from my legendary vagueness. Mostly. **

**I hope you enjoy this~**

**Would be nice to review, follow, favorite... Things like that... *****Tries to look innocent***

**Have fun reading~**

Tanoha: Smooth one, yes. He can stop time and he can predict the future- if he couldn't be smooth with his meddling...

* * *

_D5, ?_

Levi looked around, recovering from her confusion.

The craziness of the evening contrasted the quiet emptiness of the field and made her slightly dizzy.

"**Where are the others, Visnu?"**she finally asked.

"**No worries, I send them back to Tak's nest. Sagara is probably dealing with a massive hangover, though. At least you won't have to deal with that..."**

"**..."**

"**On other matters, I think you should unseal your memory. It's useless. It doesn't work properly on yourself."**

"**..."**

"**Are you angry? That I obstruct you from trying to modify the future?"**

"**..."**

"**You only saw a glimpse of my memories… How can you be sure that I'm obstructing you?"**

"**...Shady."**

The primeval god giggled at this word, but Levi didn't seem amused.

"**I don't trust you now, Visnu. If I hadn't back then, I would have been on Gresvan when Gandharva attacked. And my son would be alive."**

"**I can't deny it. Is that why you were so angry at Agni?"**

"**..."**

"**Because your son ended up in hell?"**

"**..."**

"**Now that I think of it, your other son… Agni killed him, no? Around the beginning of the universe. He was a first stage Rakshasa-"**

"**Shut. Your. Mouth. Don't dare speak of him."**

Eying Levi's clenched fists, Visnu wisely chose to follow the advice.

"**It must have been hard on you. And on top of that, you had a crush on-"**

"**What. Did. I. Just. Say?"**

"**Fine. Sooo… Why do you hate Menaka? You jealous?" **

"**She's just a joke of a pacifist!" **

Visnu seemed surprised by the answer. "**Aren't you one as well?"**

"**It's different. Being a true pacifist means you try to resolve conflicts without using violence. Ignoring them is just cowardly." **

"**I see. You do use violence, though."**

"**Last resort. I'm not suicidal, either."**

Visnu observed the girl before him. She sounded calmer, but he couldn't be sure without using insight, and she avoided his gaze.

"**What's this place?"** she finally asked.

"**That's… Not very important, right?"**

Levi glared.

"**It's just a field. Really. Don't be so suspicious of me."**

"**Why am I the only one you don't speak in riddles to?"**

If Visnu was surprised by the question, he didn't show it.

"**I don't really need it, do I? You could just read my thoughts, or more, if I pissed you off… Destroyer of Minds."**

"**Don't call me that. It's a stupid nickname. Although, I guess I deserve it... I'm not absolutely sure I'd manage to reach you before you stopped time to escape or something of the like, however."**

Silence followed again, for a few seconds.

"**Levi," **said Visnu, changing the subject, "**being friends with Sagara -no matter how you managed that- is risky, you know. I try to change the future for the best, but you? You might as well just ruin everything. You only have a partial view on the matter. Maybe you should just be a little selfish and enjoy your life while I take care of the universe?"**

Levi glared again- her blue eyes practically shot fierce lightning bolts.

Then something seemed to strike her.

She sighed, and turned back to her usual black-haired, tiny form. She looked around ten years old again, like that day Ananta found her in the sura realm.

"**That's a yes or a no?"**

"**You should already know. If it's a goodbye, I hope you keep your promise. I hope for you. And if it's a farewell… Well, I personally don't mind... "**

"**Hmm, I see your point."**

"**Ah, one last thing,"**Levi remembered.

"**What?"**

"**Do you know… "Theothor"?"**

* * *

_D5, Taksaka's nest, Sura realm_

Sagara woke up with a massive headache.

She stared at the ceiling, confused, until she recognized Taksaka's nest.

_What am I doing here? I was trampling Vasuki and..._

She looked around- Vasuki, still in his stalker outfit, snored to her right, while Taksaka hugged his (empty) popcorn box in his sleep.

Ananta also stared at her with a smirk.

If her self-control was any weaker, she'd have blushed.

"**Did you have fun partying in the human realm?"**

"**Hmm… I guess- Wait, where did Levi go?"**

Ananta gave her a surprised look as she sat up.

_Always so easy to read,_ Sagara thought.

The Ananta Clan leader hesitated before continuing.

Sagara feared that something had happened to her, but…

"**She's not here. Or else she's very well hidden…"**

"**Not here?"**

"**Not here. This Rakshasa is the one who told me you were back, by the way- You should thank him. Someone could have attacked you during your "nap"..."**

Sagara sighed. The brown-haired 5th stage Rakshasa looked sort of cute, but he was hiding shyly behind a pillar for some reason, and moving around gave her a headache.

_Should I just regenerate…_

Ananta's smirk pissed her off, too.

"**Ananta?"**

"**Hmm?"**

"**You really have nothing better to do?"**

"**No."**

_This is going to be a looong day..._

* * *

_D5, Yaksha Stronghold, planet Isholy. _

"**So you haven't seen her either, Shuri…" **Urvasi sighed, massaging his temples.

"**I'm sorry, I haven't. Although, I did hear rumors about a Gandharva Nastika being in the sura realm," **said the fox woman, curling her tail around her feet.

"**The sura realm? But **_**where**_ **in the sura realm? It's huge!"**complained the Gandharva Nastika.

"**Nearby Taksaka's nest, I think. Good luck, Urvasi… Oh, and if you see Gandharva, give him my congratulations."**

"**Why?"**Asked Urvasi, confused.

"**Isn't he getting married soon? I'd like to go, but I'm not sure if he'll agree..."**

* * *

_D5, Somewhere on Planet Willarv_

A small girl was sitting on a hill, watching the sea.

Wind blowing, some clouds breaking the blue monotony; deep blue sea hiding the undersea beasts' thousands of shiny eyes. Forests shedding leaves like dancers jumping out from behind the curtains, performing their choreography on an inaudible music.

The little girl enjoyed the spectacle, sure; but she was feeling lonely.

No matter how pretty the hill, like their ancestors many years ago, the living of the cliff would only run from her; and that made the midnight black-haired girl sad.

Well, that and other things. It was part of the long list of what made her sad.

But she didn't want to run away from this place, either. It was nice and calm; no sentient being a mile around.

And thus she sat on a lost cliff near the sea, and sung.

_I wanted to live forever_

_Forever in peace here_

_But they didn't_

_And I once thought can I go back_

_Go back home, go back_

_When home I have none_

_I wanted to hate him_

_Hate him, kill him_

_But I couldn't_

_And I thought should I go back_

_Go back home, go back_

_When home is where he is_

_I want to see them_

_See them, those two_

_But I know I won't_

_And do I want to go back_

_Go back home, go back_

_When they aren't there_

_They'll never be again_

_They never even knew each other_

_One gone by fire_

_The other by ice_

_And I wonder, should I go back_

_Go back home, go back_

_When they'll never be home_

_I want to know_

_To know, should I move on, _

_But I don't know if I can_

_So, can I go back_

_Go back home, go back_

_Where I may have a chance_

_I want to see_

_To see, can I be happy_

_If I become selfish_

_So, can I go back_

_Go back home, go back_

_If I just leave destiny be_

_I want to know_

_To know, if I can forget_

_Forget them and move on_

_They'll never live again anyway_

_They never even knew each other_

_One gone by fire_

_The other by ice_

The small girl hugged her knees, her voice a whisper. She sounded like she was about to cry.

_I couldn't back then_

_I shouldn't have even considered_

_I don't want to be alone_

_I shouldn't be alone_

_I can't_

_I can't_

The girl interrupted her song, startled by a flutter.

A small bird was looking at her, standing near her foot.

She looked up and noticed another a meter away, and another couple on her right.

The rest of the flock had settled a little farther away.

A small snake curled up in the fluffy grass on her left.

Two deer silently observed her from the edge of the forest.

The girl grinned like the child she seemed to be and stroked the closest bird's feathers.

A small something warmed her heart. A little. Enough.

She got up as she noticed the bird's fright.

_I guess I'm scary whatever I do, _she thought.

The black-haired girl walked to the edge of the cliff before eyeing the white beach beneath her.

Far beneath.

Her gaze slowly went up. The deep blue sea didn't quite reflect the azure color of the sky, but Levi didn't care in the least as she admired the sunrays playing in the waves.

"**I guess it would be mean to my audience if didn't sing it until the end…"**

She turned around and finished her song with a smile, appeased.

_I will go back home_

_Go back home, go back_

_With their ghosts by my side_

_They'll live in my heart_

_They'll learn to know each other_

_Tempers of ices and fires_

_My sons, as brothers_

_To be continued~_


	11. The Beginnings- 1

**Please Read!**

**I know there's no actual transition, but you might be confused if you don't read.**

**This is a _past arc_ happening at the beginning of the universe.**

**Levi was born male, by the way. **

**I'm still not 100% sure on how long exactly the past arc will last, but it will be in 2 parts: The beginnings, and Gresvan. To be fair, this chapter is twice as long as usual (Stuck without internet and had nothing else to do, haha...). **

**This chapter is closer to T rate than the others, too...**

**Please don't hate me for the OOC moments... Just blame it on hormones.**

**You'll get what I mean.**

**Enjoy! **

Tano: Hmm... Tano, I figured. Your avatars are from the same manga and the names are similar... xD

Visnu... Hmm, nothing bad will happen to him. As for Levi... You'll see :P

I personally do not like Menaka... for the reasons Levi enunciated (ASHES does not agree with this statement). Not that it is the only reason she dislikes Menaka, haha… You'll see...

And hurry up with your fanfiction, I'm refreshing the page twice a day... Someone tell me how do I follow on that site...

* * *

_A Short Time After The Beginning Of The Universe, Willarv_

Leviathan sighed.

It was a deep sigh.

The sort of sigh only to be sighs when the universal population was principally composed of sex-crazed, hormonal, immortal teenagers.

And when a good portion of those teenagers was after the one sighing.

And, guess what? It was exactly that.

Leviathan was a Nastika from the Gandharva clan: The Tribe of Big Fish, Toothy Sharks, and Tentacled Sea Creatures.

He appeared as a boy in his late teens, his sharp blue eyes almost twinkling from behind his midnight-black bangs, also contrasting his tan skin. Leviathan's hair was long enough to fall over his eyes, but too short to tie in a ponytail, which was completely intentional and admittedly kind of pointless. The Nastika was clad in simple white pants and a dark blue T-shirt with several buttons undone. His feet were bare because he was hardcore like that so he could feel the ground under his feet

And he was prodigiously exasperated.

His clan contained an unsurprising amount of mermaid-like females.

However, they weren't mermaids just in appearance, to Leviathan's annoyance.

He _knew_ that they were increasing their following to fight against the other clans and what not.

He just couldn't care less.

No. To be honest, he found it perfectly disgusting. He had no problems with the whole "hooking up" concept, but having kids on purpose just to send them off to fight? Knowing it would probably take several hundreds of years for them to grow up into proper fighters? Knowing that, according to Visnu, they'd be useless in a fight against Nastika or strong Astika? Pointless. Might as well find a way to make peace, and _then_ have kids, so that they could grow up in an appropriate educational environment. That was how any responsible parent should think.

Leviathan just saw it as an excuse the others found to "hook up" without bothering with the whole courting process. And the whole embarrassment involved with one-night stands.

Leviathan already found the whole war business vain. This didn't ameliorate his opinion on his peers, to say the least.

The war with the Astika was already lost: Leviathan knew it. Astika couldn't die. Nastika could. Their numbers would decrease little by little, and they would only lose in the end.

So why fight amongst themselves? Couldn't they see Astika snickering? Couldn't they have friendly, simple, and _peaceful_ days forever?

Ok, that sounded boring as hell.

Maybe that was it. A war to cure boredom. It felt so shameful Leviathan shrugged at the thought.

He sat quietly on a rocky cliff.. The environment was pretty boring, it's only redeeming factor being that it wasn't flat. Leviathan could hear the waves crashing somewhere far, far away. At least the sky was blue. Blue was, after all, his favorite color.

Not his favorite shade of blue, but close enough for him to like. That was one of the reasons why he had momentarily settled there. Other reasons being…

A sudden noise startled him out of his thoughts.

"**Hello~. So that was where you were hiding? It took me a while to find you."**

…Other reasons being to avoid this.

The boy turned around, groaning, and vaguely waved at his interlocutor.

"**Good afternoon, Menaka... Urvasi isn't with you?"**

"**Nope~"** the bitc, err, the fish-woman said playfully.

Her… breasts… were each almost as big as her head, to say the least. The revealing clothes didn't help either. Her yellow eyes sparkled and her tail really made her look like a mermai-

Not.

She had legs at the moment, Leviathan realized. Which meant he had to run.

He had to escape, and real quick.

"**Sooo, Leviathan, aren't you bored? We could hang out togeth-"**

Her sentence was cut off by Leviathan completing his sura-morph and flying away as fast as he could, creating a few small hurricanes in his hurry.

"**Darn. Was that too direct? Wasn't just a rumor, he's really playing hard to get…"**

The other Gandharva Nastika sighed and flew away as well, wondering where Leviathan had left to.

…

_She's gone, right?_

Leviathan came out from behind a nearby rock. The transcendental had worked perfectly, misguiding his chaser.

He sighed again. How long would he be able to escape his clan's hormonal females like this..?

Another voice startled him.

"**Hi, Leviathan… Seen Menaka?"**

Leviathan immediately recognized the feminine voice.

It was Urvasi, the prettiest sura of his clan.

The principal problem of Leviathan was that he wasn't any less hormonal than his peers. Simply, he had _morals_. He had _shame. _

Which was why he avoided gazing at Urvasi, already knowing full well how strikingly beautiful she looked anyway.

"**Flew away a second ago. You missed her…"**

"**Such a shame," **replied Urvasi, and from her voice Leviathan knew she was pouting, "**I'm really bored right now, but I didn't find anything entertaining… Wanna play?" **

This was so out of character for her that Leviathan wanted to grab by the collar whatever hormone was responsible for this whole mess and punch it until it turned to dust. Sadly, hormones had no collars, were insensible to punching and were already smaller than dust.

"**No thanks… Go find Menaka. I have neither the intention nor the desire to "play" with you." **

"**But…"**pouted Urvasi again, annoying Leviathan even more. Gods how frustrating this situation was.

And what kind of crapsack world is a world where the only things you could do were hit gods, hit your peers, and hit _on_ your peers?

"**Urvasi, Menaka is your friend. I'm not. I have no obligation to play cat and mouse or whatever: I'm perfectly fine with what I'm currently doing. And if it's another kind of playing you have in mind, you can just upgrade your relationship with Menaka to "friends with benefits". End of the conversation." **

Leviathan heard a discouraged Urvasi leave more than he saw her. Since he was doing nothing to resolve this whole mess, he wanted to grab Visnu by the collar and punch him until he turned to dust. Sadly, Visnu could stop time and see the future, so not only would he see it coming but he could also escape whoever was out for his blood rather easily _and_ draw him a mustache with a sharpie before the aggressor could even move.

Assuming he'd find a sharpie somewhere in this mostly still-blank universe. Brahma would probably provide one for him, though.

Leviathan shrugged and focused back to his problem. He only had a few solutions…

1\. Turn into a toddler and wait for everyone to calm down.

Not a very good idea considering it probably wouldn't stop anyone, and thus add to the creepiness of his situation. Also, he didn't know when they'd be satisfied. An eternity trying to escape the depraved rest of the universe as a little kid sounded like an awful life.

2\. Give in

No. Just no. He'd stick to his morals.

3\. Find a girlfriend

It would probably stop most of the attempts, but it seemed… rather… hard... to do…

4\. Stay in sura form

That would make him way too easy to find since he wouldn't be able to hide his transcendental value.

5\. Switch genders

Actually… This didn't seem like that much of a bad idea… He could just switch to match whoever bothered him. It seemed to work for Ananta of all people, after all.

He was an idiot for not thinking of it earlier.

The young man hesitated a split second, and a thin smoke rose from his body. A second before the one standing there was a teenage boy; now it was… a teenage girl. Unsurprisingly.

What did you expect, reader.

Leviathan felt weaker, but she wasn't bothered.

She ran all the way to the sea, reaching it within seconds. Internally she mused that she really did not feel very different to minutes ago: She was running as fast as usual, feeling as disgusted to the general behavior as usual…

She found the water, but it was rippling softly, just too much for her to see her reflection…

This problem was resolved by a small wave of ice. She tentatively peeked into the newly formed mirror.

Leviathan's hair was still an unruly midnight-black mess and her eyes were still blue and sparkling under her bangs. However, her frame was much thinner, her hair slightly longer, and she wore a short and simple black dress.

It was a bit of a shock to see herself in female form, even if her facial traits remained mainly the same. It was the first time the still-young Nastika did this, and she couldn't quite recognize the familiar stranger reflected on the ice.

She smiled, and the reflection did the same.

It probably wasn't Visnu's prank, then. Or Kali's for the matter.

Satisfied, Leviathan walked away.

* * *

_A Slightly Less Short Time After The Beginning Of The Universe, Undersea Cave, Willarv_

"**What, you hadn't even changed planets, Via?"**

Leviathan shrugged upon hearing Menaka's voice. Again, out for…Hmm. Whatever.

"**If you're looking for Urvasi, I have no idea where she went, so get lost. If you're not, get lost anyway."**

Menaka was startled by the other Nastika's reply for two main reasons.

The first reason was the rudeness. Leviathan usually remained civil in all circumstances. Losing his cool over the yellow-eyed Nastika's mere _voice_ was unusual.

Second, and more important, his tone was much higher.

As he turned around, Menaka confirmed her suspicions.

"Via" had turned female for the occasion.

"**And what's that "Via" nickname anyway? Sorry to say, but it sounds pretty lame."**

"**How should I call you, then?" **asked a much colder Menaka.

"_**You**_ **call me by my name. As for if I ever need a nickname, I'd rather have something like "Levi" than "Via"."**

Leviathan turned her back to her clan mate, and the Nastika was gone before Levi's squeal of joy could get past her lips.

Success.

Up until now, the gender-matching method was working perfectly. That and the rudeness, but Menaka was pissing her off enough for Levi to drop her civility.

Hopefully she hadn't told anyone of her location. She didn't want to know how Menaka always found her. Was she stalking Leviathan or something?

...Shady.

Her happiness faded, though, when she heard someone else's footsteps yet again a few days later.

She was actually sculpting- gotta find a hobby when you're hiding alone in an undersea cave.

Maybe she really should change planets. There was too many people finding and bothering her recently, she had thought before recognizing the visitor.

She could not afford to be rude to her last guest -it was after all her king, Gandharva.

"**Good morning… Levi. It **_**was**_ **pretty hard to find you."**

Levi gulped and tried to smile as she turned around for the hundredth time at least. It seemed like the hundredth time to her. Might as well sit facing the entrance. She was still at an age where a hundred sounded like a lot.

Her attention focused on her visitor.

Gandharva was both strong and scary, which wasn't a good combination in her opinion. Strong but kind people were perfectly fine to be around, and weak but scary people could be ignored. But both strong and scary? That was more difficult to deal with.

Hopefully for her, he wasn't _just _strong and scary. Err, probably?

"**Hmm, good, err, good morning, Gandharva-nim. Can I do anything for you?"**

He didn't answer, making her uncomfortable. She certainly didn't like how he was staring at her right now. He was one of the rare one who was too strong for her to even hope defeating in a fair fight, and escaping him alone would probably be worst than tricky.

Not that she particularly minded his presence itself. Just stop the starring, please.

"**You switched genders?"**

_Yes, Captain Obvious,_ thought Levi.

"**Yes, Gandharva-nim," **replied Levi.

The silence lasted a few seconds before she continued.

"**Did you need something? Is there anything I can help you with?"**

She waited for his reply for what seemed like forever, to the extent that she began wondering if Visnu wasn't just pranking her with a dummy Gandalf after all. Or Kali with one of her creepy ink blots, err, chaos sura.

"**Hm, hm." **he answered with a distracted, almost dreamy tone.

Bad sign. Gandharva-nim was not the type to be distracted and go "hm, hm" dreamily.

He slowly walked closer to her, increasing her discomfort. She usually more or less enjoyed his presence, considering the calming (or maybe just shutting-up-out-of-fear) effect he had on even the noisiest of their clan mates.

But right now, they were alone in an undersea cave, with a hormonal epidemic raging, and a horrible thought crossed Levi's mind.

The principal problem being that he was in her way if she wanted to reach the exit- yet another variable increasing her nervousness. She knew she wasn't in a position to defy him openly, so the fact he seemingly wouldn't let her escape without using a transcendental gave her an ominous feeling.

When he came within an arm reach, he stopped moving. Levi could hear her heart beat frantically.

"**What are you here for, Gandharva-nim?"** asked Levi with a slightly higher-pitched voice than usual, now seriously alarmed.

He stared at her without answering again.

Levi stared back and got up, trying to regain her composure.

She thought of all the times she had seen him fight. He was merciless, yet didn't cause more pain that he needed. He didn't talk much, either, and she was fairly certain he wasn't dating anyone.

His looks weren't unpleasant, either. She hadn't noticed in male form (hadn't actually cared), but they weren't. She liked the blue of his eyes. It was a beautiful color in her opinion.

He probably noticed she was distracted, and that was her mistake.

He moved so fast she couldn't react in time, pinning her against the wall.

She felt the heat on her cheeks and she was fairly sure she was as red as a… Hmm… Redder than Vasuki's hair for sure.

"**You." **He finally answered.

_Darn it. Got caught like a naive Rakshasa._

* * *

_An Even Less Short Time After The Beginning Of The Universe, A Cave Near The Site Of Present Kalibloom, Willarv_

Levi was boiling with anger.

Literally.

To the point she had had to remove herself from the vicinity of any water source, to avoid turning it into vapor. It had already happened twice. A whole sea was gone...

She was angry with Gandharva, to begin with.

Getting caught like she had been wasn't that much of a big deal in the current times (it had actually happened to pretty much everyone at least once, to say the least), but she was still irritated.

Levi hadn't expected Gandharva of all people to succumb to the "epidemic" but he was, after all, one of those who had decided the whole "let's _gather more troops _cough" policy.

Was she the only one to remain sane..?

Heck, she was pretty sure she had seen _Kali_ run after Garuda, yelling she'd have him one day, whenever that may be.

It was creepy as hell...

Which didn't stop her from feeling violated.

Worst being that it was… pretty much… what had happened… Talk about crapsack world.

She also felt ashamed, because she hadn't done everything she could've done to escape. She had more or less wanted that as well…

She couldn't blame it all on hormones. She hadn't acted awkward with Gandharva for no reason at all, either.

She could recognize a crush when she saw one, but admitting it was another story.

Levi sighed and, lying on her back, spread her arms and closed her eyes.

She felt really tired for some reason.

* * *

_A Longer Time After The Beginning Of The Universe, Hot Spring Cave, Willarv_

It had been a while, but Levi was still wondering if she should forgive her leader or not.

She had no idea how long exactly it had been, as she had spent her time sleeping and sculpting the rocks and crystals of the cave (she had found a good cave and had refused to go out all this time…)

It could have been days or years, and no one, the Gandharva Nastika included, really cared.

Why mind something as trivial as time when everyone you knew you of didn't age?

Well, had Levi finally decided, seeing the amount of statues she had done, it probably hadn't been days.

On another matter, she had had a surprise thanks to Gandharva.

A happy one. Not that she had been very happy at first, but oh well. She had changed her mind upon actual sight.

That surprise was called Lave.

She had thought over a name for a long time (as much as she could tell) and finally decided on something simple. It was a partial anagram of her own name, and it had a nice ring to it.

Names were important, after all.

Lave had wide blue eyes like evening skies, always glimmering as if they were full of stars, and his skin was pale blue, exactly like the ice crystals of their cave. His hair was tied in a minuscule ponytail of black curls, and his nose was tinier than Levi's pinkie finger. He had two long, delicate antennas on his head, ending in little globes of light whose expressive movements always matched his mood. On his back he also had two very small wings, which looked more like fins. Levi knew he had inherited this trait from her, for she had similar appendages on her own back- she usually hid them under her clothes to the extent of generally forgetting them.

Lave was also her son.

She had been perturbed even after recovering from the initial shock, to be honest. Levi hadn't expected this to happen, and at first had considered it very bad luck; but when her son had opened his eyes for the first time and looked around with a confused expression, his wings flapping softly and the faint golden light of his antennas playing with the shadows of his minuscule face, maternal instinct had kicked in. Probably stronger than most suras'.

She knew that Rakshasa couldn't talk, modify their clothes or their age or their genders even less, and were extremely weak on top of that, but it had still surprised her.

She had tries to teach the little boy how to speak (she hadn't been surprised by the gender once she had stopped gaping, though, seeing her taking female from was a recent thing and Gandharva was male pretty much every time she had seen him), but he always answered in a telepathic way.

She did jump the first time he did, even if she had vaguely heard about this trait. She also find out she could do it too...

She was daydreaming as her son played into the hot spring sitting deep within their cavern.

**Mommy,** began her son, interrupting her train of thought, **where does the water come from?**

"**I suppose it's melted snow? Although it's hot, so there's probably lava involved as well."**

**What's snow and what's lava?**

"**Snowing happens when tiny droplets of water fall from the sky and it's very cold. The water crystallized into tiny little star-like ice crystals. Lava is rock that's so hot it melted."**

**What's the sky and what's stars?**

"**Hmm, it's kind of difficult to describe… The sky looks like a ceiling from the ground outside, but much, much higher and it can turn different colors. Stars… They're big and hot, but from a planet they look like tiny little shiny dots in the sky…" **

Seeing the dazed expression of her son, Levi stopped her ramble.

"**It would be better to show you..." **she sighed.

**Can't you show me then? Can't we go outside?**

"**Sorry, Lave. With the war going on I don't think it's that much of a good idea..."**

The war had been posed for a while, during which the "hormone epidemic" (as well as the holy snickers) had been at their peak, but it had resumed once again. Levi had no intention to let her clanmates find her and ask her to fight now.

Actually, now that she thought of it, if the Gandharva clan hadn't been the only one acting on lust, the intensity of the phenomenon seemed to reflect the respective kings. Ananta had run around trying to escape pretty much every single member of his clan (even briefly taking refuge with her before Gandharva's visit) and his clan seemed to prove him right in running, but the Yaksha clan showed to be somehow more reasonable, like their king.

Well, she did take notice of Prahara being surrounded by an entire flock of kids, but at least she wasn't chased around… The Gandharva clan acted plain awkward all along. What to think of Gandharva then...

Anyway, she had other things to do, thank you very much. Rather than fighting, she could be raising her son.

She was perfectly conscious it was utterly egoistic on her part, but she didn't want to deal with any who's the dad rumors or snickering god at the moment.

She also vaguely wondered if Astika would feel offended to be put into the same "nuisance" category as rumors...

"**But as soon as it's safe I'll show you everything, don't worry."**

**Everything?**

"**Everything. Mommy promises." **she said with a smile.

* * *

Note: The "Ananta method" references to a reaction to a joke I made on Kubera's batoto forum a while back. It involved Wikipedia findings, The Schemer With The Blinding Bangs Being a Pervert, and accidental innuendo on my part.


	12. The Beginnings- 2

**Not a very humor-prone chapter, but I tried. More author notes at the end...**

**Thanks for reviewing!**

* * *

_Tano: Ananta method... Basically I joked about a wikipedia finding and it went err, innuendo..?_

_ /forums/topic/13462-kubera-season-2-3-discussion-raws-current-chapter/page-359 - Took me so damn much time (2 hours..? 3?) to find this. You better laugh._

_Actually his name is Lave, not Lavi. Sounded too similar to Levi lol._

_You got trip. Not sure you'll like how it turned out..._

* * *

_? ? ?, Somewhere On Willarv_

Agni was happy.

He was in the middle of sura territory, and hadn't been attacked… Yet.

Sneaking in hadn't been that hard: A storm had started a fire at the right moment, and here he was. That transcendental was most certainly handy.

The terrain was jagged and rocky, with no signs of life. It was completely barren. Visnu had said something about plants and animals appearing in the future, but Agni didn't know what they would be like, and they didn't exist yet anyway. It meant more Astika at the very least...

That place was the least likely place for him to be in, so no one should bother him for a while. Especially not the other gods.

He was starting to wonder if they enjoyed getting curbstomped by Nastika...

They probably did.

So, now he should begin by… Finding something interesting. He'd rather nap on Fedust, but Sura were on the lookout there.

The god of fire set out on his mission.

* * *

_? ? ?, Somewhere Else On Willarv_

**Waaaaaah! So that's the sky? **shouted an enthusiastic blue-skinned kid.

"**Yes,"**answered his mother with a smile, "**that's the sky."**

They were on a small, rocky beach near the sea. The young mother had given up to her son's pleas, and they had finally stepped out of their home.

She was hiding her nervousness under a smile, but seeing her son ecstatic was washing away most of her worries.

Most.

**That's the sea?**

"**Yes, that's the sea." **

**That's the stars up there?**

"**Yes, those are the stars."**

**Can you show me snow? And lava?**

"**Uhh, lava is dangerous, Lave. But snow is fine."**

**What does dangerous mean?**

Levi stopped in her track at the question. How would she explain "dangerous" to a kid that knew absolutely nothing of the world?

She picked up a pointy rock. (Rocks were everywhere… Levi hoped for the promised "plants" or whatever Visnu called them to appear quickly. It was so boring!)

"**Come here. See that rock? What can you tell me about it?"**

The little one observed the stone carefully.

It was the size of Levi's fist, with a sharp edge.

**It's sharp?**

"**Yes. It's sharp, so it's a little dangerous."**

**So dangerous means sharp?**

"**No. Give me your hand."**

The curious boy proceeded. Levi steeled her will: she hated doing this, but it was necessary.

The sooner he learned, the better.

She stabbed her son's hand with the sharp edge: the cut was very light, and it healed before her son's yelp faded.

"**What you felt just now was 'pain'. Pain happens when you are hurt, and the rock is dangerous because it can hurt you."**

**Okay… So the Astika you told me about, they are dangerous because they can hurt me?**

"**It's not just that they **_**can**_ **hurt you, Lave,"**she replied with a sigh, "**but most Astika **_**will**_ **hurt you if they see you. And they will hurt you a lot more than what I did just now. They will hurt you until you can't regenerate anymore."**

Seeing her son's teary eyes, Levi interrupted her ramble.

"**But, I won't let them hurt you. Mommy will protect you. Do you still want to see snow? I know a place-"**

**You can hurt me, mom, so are you dangerous too?**

Her son's question took Levi off-guard. Was she dangerous for her son? She'd never hurt him - at least without without a good reason like what had just happened, and certainly wouldn't kill him, right? But he said the truth: she was dangerous. Technically, she was one of the strongest member of the Gandharva Clan, even if she was sort of an outcast. So, was she..?

"**Mommy is dangerous," **she answered carefully, "**but I'll never hurt you without a good reason. I don't want to hurt you, either, so I am less dangerous to you than Astika."**

Her son looked like he was reflecting deeply on her words, so she waited a few seconds, unsure of his reaction.

All of sudden, a smile formed on his face, and she resumed breathing.

"**Show me snow, mommy!"**

* * *

_? ? ?, Willarv, South Pole_

Levi watched her son running in the snow and trying to catch snowflakes, jumping and running around, with a smile.

She always did.

His existence alone was heartwarming to her. She felt better with him around. She felt… loved. And she loved him. That simple fact made her happy.

The Nastika wished that situation could last forever, but she doubted it would. At least she could make sure of her son's safety for now.

Startled by a splash, she focused on Lave; he had reverted to sura form and had begun to swim in a previously-frozen lake. Frozen until he smashed the ice, that is.

He looked up and interrupted his game. For a Gandharva, he wasn't that big (yet) : His eye was around the size of her own head.

**Mommy, do you have a sura form?**

"**Yes, but mine is too big, Lave. I might break something…"**

He looked puzzled. Well, as puzzled as a giant undersea beast could look.

**How big?**

"**As big as… Hmm… I can change my size to a certain extent, so it's kind of hard to tell…"**

A big splash interrupted her ramble, and her son giggled when he caught sight of her soaked form.

"**Lave… I can play that game too!"**

She began making a huge ball of snow to throw.

**Catch me! **her son dared, and giggled again.

* * *

_? ? ?, Somewhere On Willarv_

Agni jumped.

He could feel a transcendental value rising near the pole- a sura.

It seemed weak, but it was there. Was it one of the Rakshasa he heard about? The children of Sura? It seemed way too weak for a Nastika.

What did children look like anyway? Astika couldn't have any, so Agni was curious. He hadn't seen any quite yet. He knew how they looked, being able to change his own age, but how did they actually behave?

Although they were probably as dangerous as their parents were...Maybe less experienced, for now.

Should he kill the threat while it was still weak? Any other god wouldn't have thought twice, but Agni wasn't any other god. It didn't seem fair to kill someone in a weakened state.

Maybe he was a masochist. Kubera seemed to think so, but Visnu told him it was a good thing to think like that, and (if he had understood his usual riddles well) that sort of reasoning might actually save lives later on.

Should he leave the kid alone, then? Seeing how fast Nastika were, they might as well bump randomly into each other. Hmm.

Better not do anything. The fire deity wasn't planning on dying _again_ anytime soon.

The first experience hadn't been exactly pleasant.

* * *

_? ? ?, Willarv, South Pole_

**Mommy! Let's play another game!**

Levi dropped the huge pile of snow she was about to throw her son. They were both soaked and he had remained in sura form. Not that she couldn't have lifted him as she was.

"**What do you want to play?" **she asked, enthusiastic.

**Uh, hide and seek?**

"**Okay, let's play hide and seek. Go hide, I'm counting~"**

* * *

_? ? ?, Somewhere On Willarv_

Agni was a little annoyed.

At the beginning, he came here to seek a little peace away from the combat-drunk Astikas, but he was bored as hell. It had been what, a couple hours?

The fire deity suddenly heard faint footsteps.

Agni had to recognize, that it was completely his fault for not checking the threat first.

The incident also hardened his resolve to never take hostages. Or use any dirty method for the matter. He had more than one reason, of course, but one of them was definitely "so that this sort of thing never happens again".

That day was the second time he would die.

He was doomed from the moment the God of Fire launched a fireball at his source of worry, that happened to be a little Rakshasa with blue skin and very small wings.

What followed he only recalled fuzzily.

A scream of pure rage and anguish as something ran past him.

A rather small, trembling form crouched over his victim.

Soft sobs echoing in the silence.

His lame attempt to apologize.

Her look of pure hate for him.

The wave of cold that froze everything miles around.

How she walked slowly toward him and lifted him by his neck.

...And the pain, too.

* * *

_? ? ?, Willarv_

Levi heard the shrilling scream from too close not to recognize whose it was, even miles away.

_Lave is in danger._

She felt herself enter panic mode before she could rationalize and delude herself into thinking he just fell.

It was a cry of pain and anguish. Her maternal instinct kicked in and she rushed to her son.

The Nastika heard another, lower yet screeching scream when her eyes fell on the tiny fuming form collapsed on the ground. She didn't realize it was hers as she ran past- was that a god? Agni? The hell was he doing there?

In a second she was by him, cradling his burnt head.

She didn't notice the temperature falling. She didn't notice the tears freezing before they touched the burnt body.

She did catch the whisper in her mind.

**Mom…**

He was alive. He was alive. He was alive.

She'd take him to Gandharva to heal if necessary…

**Mom… It hurts…**

Her son's breathing was reduced to short, harsh gasps.

"**Don't worry, Lave. I'll take you to safety. Just hold on…"**

Tried to brush his hair to reassure him, he winced to her touch.

**Mom… That's an Astika right… You were right. It hurts so much more… I'm sorry.**

The volume of his respiration was decreasing alarmingly.

Her son smiled sheepishly and closed his eyes.

**I'm sorry...**

_Silence. Not even broken by her own low sobs..._

"**Oh crap, I'm sorr-" **

Blinded by rage, she gripped the breaker of silence by the throat as ice began to creep over him.

* * *

_? ? ?, Carte, Gandharva Tribe's Stronghold_

Urvasi sighed and massaged her temples.

Looking back, their actions had probably been extremely embarrassing. And annoying. So yeah, that Leviathan would be angry for making his… her life hell for a while. She could understand. That she'd be angry at Gandharva in particular (the... story between them had become known) was rational and unquestionable.

That she'd try to kill Menaka when she suggested to have another kid if she missed hers so bad was a little more worrisome.

From what Urvasi got, Agni had infiltrated Willarv, the planet Levi was on at the time, and killed her son, who wasn't even a decade old. Truly sad tale.

Levi had killed Agni. It hadn't even been a battle. Urvasi had rushed over when she had noticed her transcendental value released.

Levi's power had frozen everything miles and miles around, and the frozen underground water had cracked the earth in some places, but that wasn't even the worst of it.

It would be an understatement to say there was blood and flesh everywhere.

When Urvasi had reached Levi, she was licking her bloody fingers like a purring Yaksha.

Near her was a very small, burnt body. Only the foot-wide circle around it was free of bloody stains.

"**Urvasi? What is it this time? I'm kinda busy, you see…"**

Her tone had been vaguely annoyed, almost pouting.

"**You did this?"** asked a shocked Urvasi, unsure of how to react.

"**Oh, that? It's Agni. Dunno what he was doing here… Guess he wanted to play Hide and Seek, too. Well, he lost~" **

She had stopped licking her fingers to look up, and Urvasi noticed that she had cried. So, Agni must have killed that burnt one, and Levi killed him? But who was it..?

"**Whose body is that?"**

Levi didn't answer. She simply ignored Urvasi and picked up the burnt corpse.

The Nastika had walked past her, slowly, like Urvasi didn't exist, until she disappeared from the latter's sight.

Urvasi abruptly snapped back into the present. Levi had just stated that she would not get involved in any further fighting unless it was relevant to her own survival. Because she was sick of pointless brawls, she said. Cue heated argument.

She was currently capable of holding her own against Gandharva, and Urvasi didn't know how there hadn't been any blood shed yet…

Well, knowing how frequent arguments were, she wasn't that worried.

* * *

_? ? ? ?, Hell_

"**Welcome back, Agni. Who did you mess with to die like that?"**

The fire deity groaned as he got up. His surroundings were ablaze, ashen rock and lava rivers - and a few fellow gods.

Hell. Had he died? Yes he did. When? His sense of time was fuzzy. He had just revived in any case…

"**Indra. How long since I died?"**

"**Long enough for a mountain of paperwork to form. I suggest you get to work. Oh, and that guy over there is Yama, god of death." **

The Astika King seemed to find something hilarious, but Agni didn't know what it was.

"**Work?" **he said with a horrified tone as he processed the words of the God of Sky and slowly backed away.

"**Yes, work. you've missed enough-"**

The God of Fire ran for it as Yama groaned under the huge pile of paper.

* * *

**Nualie: Ok, so that's the end of the Beginnings chapter. Next is Gresvan's story, which might be longer… Maybe? I also add that it's necessary to read the time and space indications, or you'll get confused. I'M LOOKING AT YOU, ASHES.**

**Ashes: What did I do? I'm innocent… I _always _read _all_ of the space and time indications… Definitely…**


	13. Gresvan- 1

**_Sorry for delay..._**

**_You may or may not guess how this links with this story. _**

**_Well, I dropped enough hints I think :p_**

Tano: Enjoy! As promised, it's kinda fluffy...

Mizura: I tried. Glad you found that funny.

* * *

_Some years before D0, Gresvan_

In that city, there was one shop.

In that shop was a young man, or maybe a boy in his late teens.

That same young man was staring blankly at the street.

The city was full of life, as usual, merchants merchandised, guards guarded, clients cleared the shops clean and knights knitted.

Well, his mother was a knight before, but now that she looked like a grandma she spent her days knitting. Whatever floated her boat. A legit knight knitting.

"**If you are bored, can you do a delivery?" **asked the old woman by his side.

She appeared to be in her late sixties, maybe early seventies. She wore a pair of chocolate-brown pants, a green shirt and a pale brown scarf. Her silver hair and wrinkles were proof of her relatively old age, but her olive eyes hadn't lost their sharpness. The old woman was a former knight still in excellent shape and could effortlessly carry loads some quarters winced to. Yet she was only a pureblood.

A strong woman all her life, yet her son found her so fragile.

"**Stop daydreaming, boy."**

Putting a hand on his shoulder, a bulky man interrupted the young man's dreamy contemplation. If it weren't for the bear-like ears he wore on his head and his unusual skin color, he could have passed for a normal human. The tall fellow appeared to be in his mid-thirties, all muscles.

"**Here's the address. Off you go, Nathan!"**

Nathan was the boy's name. His hair color lay between red and orange; his eyes contain a mix of gold and chocolate. He wore an ashen shirt and black trousers.

He groaned for the sake of it and off he went, carrying a huge mirror.

His parents loved mirrors. He vaguely remembered hearing that they had met because of one. And thus they ended up making some. Well, _someone_ needs to make them, he concluded. Not that it was their only merchandise, or they'd go bankrupt. They also sold magic items, among which were magic mirrors, of course.

Nathan's thoughts turned back to what had first distracted him. He may have been thirty-four, but his mental age was really a teenage boy's.

Her name was Nisha.

As far as he knew, she was a Quarter like he- a year younger, but already working for a living. Her relatives apparently lived far away-he only ever saw her with her friends or alone. She also seemed to love books; the one time he had dared to look through her window, he caught a glimpse of a messy library. The shelves were bent from the weight of all of that literature.

And there she laid, in an armchair that seemed much too large for her small stature. She kept her legs crossed, with a book on top, her head bent down to intently gaze at its contents. With a small gesture, she had pushed her shoulder-length blonde hair back behind her ear, revealing her porcelain face.

When a small frown had appeared on her cute face and she had slowly raised her look to the window he had been watching her through, he had withdrawn so hastily that he almost landed on his behind.

Flustered at the thought of being discovered, he had scrambled off as fast as possible, his face red as a tomato.

During his reflections that he realized that he didn't know who the delivery was for. Nathan honestly felt like facepalming, but his hands were full. At least the mirror wasn't broken. Hopefully his parents had left the address- he didn't feel like returning to ask. Their mocking grins dug holes into his pride….

He looked for the address on the heavy package...

His heart skipped a beat.

Nisha?

Why would she need a mirror?

Nathan felt the heat of his cheeks as he realized the reason for his parent's snickers… How had they found him out? Had they found his photos of her? He thought he had hidden them well… Damn.

Well, he wasn't a stalker. He just took a photo now and then, when he saw her. Only hiding because she wouldn't want him to, obviously. And obviously, he only followed her around to make sure she was safe. The city obviously wasn't safe for non-magicians or fighters...

Okay, that _obviously_ sounded very stalker-ish.

Nathan sighed. Had she broken her own mirror? He recognized the piece as one that had been in for reparation. That sounded kind of weird… And why in the world would she need such a big one?

He had found her house easily- he came here more often than not.

Maybe he was becoming obsessed… Why was he even? Nisha was pretty, all right. But apart from that, why was he interested in her?

Was it the grace endowing every single of her movements?

Was it the gorgeous art she carefully constructed with a careless smile, her eyes twinkling and his heart shattering?

Her ever-lasting good mood?

The out-of-place melancholy that struck her sometimes?

The fact that her sadness made him want to destroy something?

Her mischievous smile?

"**Hello? Nathan, was it?"**

His heart missed a beat.

How had he not noticed the Quarter three centimeters from his nose, on her own doorstep?

"**Ah, um, Nisha it's about that mirror-"**

Great conversation skills here, Nathan. _Great. _You are _so_ going to impress her with those.

"**Ah, already ready? I accidentally broke it yesterday… Already repaired uh? Even without magic… This sure is convenient."**

"**Um, yeah. So, may I enter and help you install it? Or-"**

"**Sure," **she replied with a smile he could only call kind, stepping aside.

He brushed against her arm and his heart missed a beat again.

_Get a grip, Nathan! You're already creepy. Don't make it awkward. She's just a girl, not some kind of OP Nastika. Get-a-grip._

He thought he heard a giggle and looked up-

"**Follow me," **she said, her back toward him- she was definitely much faster than he thought. Maybe she was the daughter of a Half and a Quarter- They were stronger than regular Quarters.

Her place was a small house on the edge of town. He knew her northside window had a view on her workshop, but he had never entered her house. It was surprisingly bland. Untouched. He peeked in the kitchen- everything was clean and neat, and not one dirty plate stained the place.

And she was living alone. If he lived alone his place would be a total mess.

Probably the power of the XX chromosomes.

"**Why do you live alone?" **he spat out without thinking.

"**I have neither parents nor siblings," **she replied casually. Like it was nothing at all.

His question was personal. He had been extremely rude. Why did she answer? Did people ask often?

He mentally slapped himself. What. The. Hell. was wrong with him? That girl was driving him crazy. Of course people would ask. That particular neighborhood was among the best gossips of the town.

They reached a room she opened the door of. He immediately knew that the room he entered was special. In contrast to the walls in the rest of the house which were of an ocean blue color, the walls in this room were of a soft pastel blue. Her bedsheets were neat as well. Almost as if she rarely used them. It was pretty bare- Apart from the books. There really were tons of books. Like in the rest of the house. Those were neatly ordered as well.

It just surprised him that "The Truth About Nastika" was right beside "Philogelos" (Which like he knew, through being friends with the cousin of the son of the guy working in the … Hmm. It was one of the oldest known joke books. Did she laugh reading about Nastika?)

"**Can you put it here? And help me unwrap it?"**

He nodded and as they wrapped off the packaging, he intently followed her hand's movements.

He knew she was supposed to work with her hands a lot, but they were smooth like silk. How did she do that? XX OP-ness again? Amazing.

He held the mirror upright while she gently peeled off the paper, and her hand brushed against his again. His heart missed a beat.

_Concentrate_, he thought.

She chuckled and for an instant he feared that he had spoken aloud- but it didn't seem the case.

"**I thought of something funny," **she explained with an apologetic smile- why did she even?

The mirror, a meter and a half tall with golden framing, was soon hanging on the wall, and he no longer had any excuse to stay. Such a shame. Despite the slight flush on his cheeks he knew was there, he wanted to stay- he rarely felt so at peace. Thinking about nothing but her.

Not about his mother wilting away day by day, nor the sadness in his father's eyes when he watched them both; not about the magic university he failed to enter; nor about his parent's disappointed looks when they thought he wasn't paying attention; not about his pureblood friends who were already married and parents themselves, and some of the Quarter ones, too, while he remained single; nor about the fact he had barely ever talked to her since he had fallen for her over ten years ago…

The only thing he wanted to think about was Nisha. Nisha and her sun-like smile, and nothing else.

He knew she liked children- he'd seen her consoling small kids who tripped in the park- and saving cats from trees. She never refused a favor and helped others with a benevolent smile…

She truly was kindness incarnate-

"**Nathan."**

Her hand on his shoulder snapped him back to reality- how could he have spaced out like that? It was embarrassing.

"**S-sorry. I s-spaced out."**

She giggled as though he had said something funny- maybe he really had. He liked the smoothness of her hair and how the sun rays played with it...

She reminded him of something ancient like... the wide sky... the unchanging eternal cycle of seasons. Maybe? No, it wasn't that exactly. He couldn't quite put it into words...

"**Well, I'll leave now…"**

"**Wait." **She interrupted him, grabbing his arm.

"**Hmm?"**

Nathan was a little sheepish. What did she..?

"**Do you want to go on a date?"**

…

…

…

…

…

_WHHHHHAAAAAATTTTTTTT?_

"**Why do you…" **He replied in full confusion. The girl he liked asked him on a date. What. What. What.

"**Don't you like me?" **she asked with her trademark mischievous smile.

The boy reddened, then sighed.

Everyone had seen through him completely and entirely, hadn't they…


	14. Gresvan- 2

**Well, it's been a small while. I'm pretty busy and with holidays coming soon, the pace will become even more irregular. Sorry. **

**But it's not on hiatus, ok?**

**Thanks to Tierra for her proofreading. Ashes is busy cough (Last time I heard of him he was playing around with brain slices at school. Hm hm.)**

**Edit: I couldn't reread since I was almost late this morning... Sorry ^^'**

**Sooo it was still in beta... Stupid little Nua... I'll make sure it doesn't happen again...**

Tano: Mean, me? Noooo... Just a little bit. Err, I think. As for your questions... you'll see :P

Just hurry up and update yours, please.

* * *

_Some years before D0, Gresvan_

Nathan was restless. Completely, entirely, utterly restless. Once back home he went out again after an hour trying to concentrate on work, did forty laps around the house, collapsed, got teased by his parents, thought of what Nisha would say if she saw him and had to do ten more laps to calm down.

Now he was lying on his bed. The pillow was soft under his head, and he could make out the corner of the photos he hid there before. Between the not-so-tightly shut curtains he could see the night sky, full of stars.

He was exhausted. His date was tomorrow… He couldn't believe it…

The hopeful boy closed his eyes.

_The forest was very dense. He couldn't see the firmament at all through the brown leaves, but he could see the path in front of him thanks to a small light ahead._

_The cool darkness permeated through his torn clothes, making him shiver.__It was like black ink trying to swallow him._

_He tried to run toward the light. The dark seemed to stick to him like obscure mud, whispering tales of loneliness in his ear. But as he got closer, he noticed his lodestar was but a small lantern- which was __held by the pale, slender hands of a young girl.__._

_The girl seemed to be in her preteens and her untamed hair that reached her shoulders had the hue of a moonless midnight. The sparkling of her eyes in the __dim glitter of the lantern__ made up for any lack of stars. She sat on a rock that marked a forking point of the dirt path he had been following._

_The faint flare of the lantern ignored any shadows and formed a protective circle around her._

_She looked up as he finally reached the radiant haven, and that's when he noticed she was holding a book._

_"__So you came. Quite a dark place your mind is, don't you think?"_

_What do you mean? _

_The strange girl slid down from the rock she had been sitting on. Even if she looked around twelve, she was unusually tiny. Nathan noticed that the book was gone._

_"__I'm not tiny," she pouted, before taking on a serious tone. Her blue gaze pierced right through him. "Listen. I don't like making people sad. I think you deserve a chance to enjoy it once since you long for it so much, but I don't want you to be too disappointed."_

_What are you talking about?_

_"__Call it pity or kindness, it's your choice and none of my business."_

_…_

_" __So! Listen. I made a mistake. How could I forget how you would feel... I don't want to get your hopes up… But… Whatever. What you want to do… It's your choice to make. Just know that it's not because I like you or anything… And choose..."_

_..._

_Her eyes were sad, and a familiar feeling struck him. His fist clenched._

_"__You're better off staying away… I am a liar. Manipulative. __However good my reasons may be, they are nothing more than excuses.__." _

_I don't care about that._

_"__Give up, move on, __That's the better thing for you to do__. I like making people happy, whoever they are. I'm not against using my power to grant a bit of rest, or a sliver of happiness, or just to peek at someone's unrealizable dreams."_

_She stopped a second to breathe._

_ "__But people break when shown what they can't have. Once they return to the darkness after being dazzled by an illusion of light… They... They break. I don't want you to break, too." _

_She paused, and lowered her eyes to the illuminated dirt beneath them._

_"__I'd feel too much guilt destroying you. It's cute how much humans can love. How passionate they can be. Not because they want something else. Something close to pure, I suppose."_

_You're wrong. It's not "pure". Not really._

_"__It's genuine, at the very least. That's as close as it can get." she replied with a smile, still looking down. _

_All doubts on her identity vanished._

_Who are you, Nisha?_

_She froze. She looked a bit surprised, but pleased at the same time._

_"__I'm me. Like anyone is. Not exactly who you thought I was, that's all. See? I'm a liar."_

_It doesn't matter. I still like you._

_"__Stubborn one, aren't you?"_

_My only quality, I suppose._

_"__You think too lowly of yourself."_

_How would you know?_

_"__I can tell."_

_Will you be gone tomorrow? That's why you came now?_

_"__That's what I planned to do. Disappear. If I stay around… I'll end up hurting you."_

_I don't want you to disappear! Please. Don't go. Not because of me. Are you unhappy here? Tell me what it takes for you to stay. Tell me what's wrong, I'll make it right._

_"__People aren't always that honest to themselves. That's one more quality."_

_Don't avoid the question._

_The girl only smiled in answer._

_Please._

_"__Don't plead with me. Do you want to tie me down to someplace I don't want to be? I don't want to live the life of a prisoner."_

_I don't think you hate it here. __Why would you have stayed for over a decade if not because you liked it__?_

_"__True enough."_

_I am not pleading with you. I am asking you._

_"__There's no diff-"_

_Listen. It's different._

_"__..."_

_I want to be with you. I'm asking you to stay._

_"__Why?"_

_I love you. That's why. The only reason._

_"__W-Why? Why do you love me?"_

_Because it's yo-_

_"__Don't say that! I'm not the one you think, so this reason is nil."_

_Then I don't know… No. I do know why._

_"__Then..?"_

_Simple. It's because it's me._

_"__H-How does that make any sense…"_

_I love you because I'm me. I am human. Humans need food and water like they need day and night. I need you. Your presence is my day, and your absence is my night. _

_"__T-That's not right. You're… Just… Why would I be?"_

_Because I love you. What else do you need to want to be with someone? You're the sun that lights up my day, the sun that makes it the day, and the sun that lights up my nights through the moon, pale memory of you. That is who you are to me, because I am me, a human, and I love you. I love your kindness and your smiles. I love how you walk and how you space out. I'm mesmerized when you are here, because you're here. Because I am me, a human, and I fell for you._

_Nathan smiled to her blush. The darkness wavered._

_"__W-W-Why did you?"_

_Because I am me. You are who I love. I cherish the air you breathe because it kissed you, I adore the ground you walk on because it got to support you. I-_

_"__S-Stop. Stop! This nonsense is… I shouldn't be loved by someone like you."_

_You say I deserve a chance. You deserve one as well. You are not worthless. You deserve to be loved as well. What is wrong with that?_

_He saw her tears pearl in the corner of her eyes, shining even more than her eyes._

_You said it was my choice to make. I chose to love you. You cannot say anything against that. It's my freedom of choice._

_He reached out to her hand, putting a knee on the ground, and squeezed her tiny fingers. _

_I'll see you tomorrow, won't I?_

_"__Na-Nathan. T-That's just ... You know?" She was sobbing now, the words came out in a ached whisper._

_Did no one love you before? Did you never have someone to tell you they loved you the most?_

_The darkness, which had retreated, seemed to explode, and Nathan jumped. The forest was gone. He looked around frantically for the child who was Nisha, but he was alone._

_All was dark, and he felt like he was floating- he could touch nothing, sensed nothing._

_But, curiously, he wasn't scared._

_He simply opened his eyes and-_

His room was still dark- he woke up before dawn.

**"****Was that a dream?"**

No one answered. Nathan went to close the window- had it been opened when he fell asleep? He couldn't recall.

Curtains wide open, he stared at the city still veiled by a soft obscurity…

Yes, that would be a good day.

* * *

_Some years before D0, somewhere else on Gresvan_

A thin figure slid through the opened window, breathing uneven and footing unsteady. She precariously made her way to the corridor, trying to reach the bedroom, and soon collapsed on the floor. She was obviously in a bad state, but did not seem injured, and her speedy heart had no link to her running- and a light pulsated from her body, much brighter now.

The girl tried to reign in her ragged breathing as she pressed her forehead on a nearby cold mirror. Steam formed on the glass and some tears escaped her eyelids, but she first focused on calming down. The phosphorescence that seemed to glow from within her illuminated the room.

Breath in.

Breath out.

Breath in.

Breath out.

The scales covering her right arm faded into her pale, sweaty skin. The claws grew back to fingernails.

Breath in.

Breath out.

Breath in.

Breath out.

The sobs stopped and turned to an ached breathing; the glow slowly faded and returned the room to its rightful pre-dawn darkness.

Breath in.

Breath out.

Breath in.

Breath out.

The tears forgotten, the girl chuckled.

It began with a faint sound and grew louder and louder, until she was laughing her head off, tears still welling up in corners of her eyes.

Nisha gave up on her upright position and fell on her back. She stared at the ceiling until she was able to articulate words again. Finally, she spoke.

**"****I'm really a wreck, am I not… Letting a human's words affect me to this extent, really? "**

She closed her eyes and smiled.

**"Well. I guess I'm looking forward to tomorrow…"**

She would still complain about falling asleep on the floor the next morning, though.


	15. Gresvan- 3

**Nualie: Already fifteen chapters!**

**I could say it seemed short, but it'd be a lie, so... Nope.**

**Actually, my friend, Tierra Nevada, wrote most of this… Haha… Writer's block got the better of me and she's a much better writer anyway… **

**But better that than waiting oh so long again, right? **

**Oh, and if anyone's been wondering why I don't include disclaimers, I just wrote it on my profile…**

**Ashes: My editing has kinda been irregular due to my fooling around for a few weeks (read: working), and I will continue to fool around (read: work) for the rest of the summer because I'm a motivated person like that (I'm really not, I'm lying in bed eating right now.) Sorry-not-sorry!**

* * *

_Some years before D0, Gresvan_

Nathan was nervous.

Okay, this was an understatement. He was nearing a dramatic nervous breakdown.

He had obtained a day off from his (smirking) parents, and was now waiting for Nisha.

They were meeting near the city gates for some unknown reason.

His dream still bothered him.

…

Was that the understatement of the day? So far it was like, the day of euphemisms.

The girl in his dream looked nothing like Nisha and spoke in riddles, but somehow in the dream he knew it was her.

Heat came back on his cheeks every time he thought of his confession. IT WAS SO DAMN EMBARRASSING. It made him want to scream, shout and curl up into a ball.

The child and the love of his life had the same deep azure in their eyes, if that was anything to go by. Also, it seemed like she had been aware of their planned date…

Wait.

Who was he kidding? It was just a dream. Calm down and focus on the Date Of Your Life.

He had arrived ahead of time just in case, but now he was stuck with nothing to do-

**"Excuse me."**

He looked up to the speaker, a slender young man. He wasn't really tall, but he wasn't short either, and he wore loose, casual clothes. His long hair (long on masculine standards, at least) hid his eyes from view.

"**Can I help-"**

The man peered closer, only an inch from his own face, and Nathan's words were lost in an embarrassed gargle.

The intensity of the man's gaze made it seem like the man was staring into his soul. Which happened to be a really uncomfortable feeling. Nathan vaguely pondered Nisha's reaction if she were to see him in such a position, but he'd rather not think about it- she'd probably have doubts about his orientation.

"**I think she'd be mad at me and would kick my ass, destroying a few buildings in the process, so I'm not going to stay and wait. Sorry for the inconvenience~"**

The man was about to leave, but still added a last line to his brief apparition.

"**You better not break her heart. You'd die. And you wouldn't be the only one."**

And just then he was gone like that, leaving a perplexed Nathan behind.

_...Was that one of her relatives? She said her parents were deceased and she had no siblings… Maybe an uncle? A hyper-protective uncle?_

**"Naaathan~"**

This sweet voice could only belong to one being in the world. Nathan instantly forgot the mysterious man, his mind occupied with a certain blonde.

"**I'm sorry, have you been waiting?"**

Nisha smiled her most beautiful, dazzling smile. Her sunshine hair fell to her small bare shoulders. A simple pastel blue dress enveloped her figure, accentuated by a white ribbon around her waist. In the nook of her left arm, she held a basket.

Was it just him or were her eyes an especially stunning, deep azure today?

Nathan had to admit, it took a few seconds for him to snap out of it.

"**N-No, I just arrived."**

A smile bloomed on her face, and his heart missed a beat.

**"Hehe, I like your shirt. It's cute."**

Nathan blushed at the compliment. Well, today wasn't the day she'd call him manly , but that wasn't anything new. She giggled when she noticed his expression.

Urgh.

His heart almost jumped out of his chest when she slipped her hand into his. She too motioned him to follow her and they headed… Somewhere. He didn't really care where.

* * *

_A few years before D0, planet Carte_

Urvasi paced underwater. Actually, his path had already dug a few inches in the ice.

He was bored.

"**Urvasi!"**

The young man with purple skin lift his head upon hearing his friend, Menaka. She swam toward him, her tail swirling behind her.

She did look like a mermaid _a lot_.

"**Hello, Menaka. Something the matter?"**

She smiled, and shook her head.

"**Urvasi, the Rakshasas showed me a game humans invented, you might like it. You were bored, right?" **She told him excitedly.

"**Is it complicated?"** Asked Urvasi worriedly, not inclined to listen to endless instructions.

"**No, it's very simple, listen. It's called "Rock-Paper-Scissors."**

* * *

_Some years before D0, about an hour later, Gresvan_

Nathan was an idiot.

Not that he had forgotten his wallet or anything of the like, he wasn't _that_ stupid.

He hadn't noticed where they were going until Nisha had told him to be careful of where he walked.

They were in the middle of nowhere, in a forest.

She was humming a melodious tune, holding his hand and leading the way. She seemed to know where they were going in spite of the long distance that they had walked.

What was strange, though, was the complete absence of suras. Inferior suras might prefer to avoid cities, they had gone pretty far from the city and hadn't stumbled upon a single one.

Luckily for the Quarter, he had an inherently good endurance- otherwise he'd have collapsed from the long, fast paced walk.

He was out of breath, but Nisha hadn't broken a sweat. Somehow, the basket in her hand never swayed, staying steady the entire time. Yep, definitely not your regular Quarter.

**"Where are we going?"** he finally asked.

After over an hour. Better late than never.

Nisha turned to face him without stopping, and he feared she would trip, but she didn't.

She gave him a mysterious smile, but didn't answer.

Since she wouldn't answer him, he could do nothing but helplessly enjoy the feeling of holding her hand... and try not to run out of stamina. What guy wanted to faint in front of his crush on their first date...

To his relief, Nisha soon slowed down while the forest in front of them cleared up, revealing a glade. A pond glittered in the noonday sun, surrounded by a breathtaking dense field of spring flowers. Their various colors perfectly harmonized with each other. A breeze running through them sent a wave of sweet fragrance to him while gently swaying the fragile-looking blossoms. Some loose petals twirled about in the air.

The girl next to him laughed seeing his stunned face.

**"Do you like it? It's one of my favorite places. Come."**

Playfully tugging his hand, Nisha led him to a spot not far away from the pond's edge.

Nathan was at a loss of words. Seeing the girl of his dreams in this dream-like landscape, smiling at him like this. His mind received a cuteness-overload.

His brain started to work again when she let go of his hand to set down the basket she carried and brought out a cream colored blanket. Hurriedly, he helped her spread it on the ground.

Together, they sat down between the flowers. Nathan could feel his heart beating strong and fast.

This was a date. A real date. With Nisha!

At a loss of what to do or say, he watched her placing what she had prepared on the blanket between them. There was a set of dishes, a bottle of fresh water, a bowl filled with meatballs, a plate with little meat pies as well as four meat skewers. If there was anything strange with her choice of dishes, he didn't notice at all.

Was this a dream? His dream girl even served him some of her meat directly on his plate, her eyes filled with merriment. This had to be a dream, right?

But could a dream be so real? He could feel the soft texture of the blanket beneath him, feel the sun shining down on him and smell the intoxicatingly sweet scent of the flowers around them.

He could feel Nisha's eyes meet with his, sending a jolt through his very soul, stirring his heart and shaking his mind, destroying the concept of time, freezing the moment.

Her laughter rang like a lovely bell in his ears.

**"Nathan, what are you spacing out about? What are you thinking?"**

**"I... What I am thinking...?"**

_What is this, my mind feels sluggish, I can't find the words. What do I do? What do I say? _His thoughts raced, trying to figure out how to speak what he felt.

_In my dream. In my dream I was able to just say it out loud. _Why was reality so... so hard?

Nathan opened his mouth to give her an answer. To confess his feelings to her. To tell her that she was kind and beautiful and perfect. All this. That he loved her, went crazy for her, would give anything to be by her side forever and ever.

But in the end, just one word found its way out, just one faint word. **"Dream..."**

**"Dream? You're thinking about a dream?"** she tilted her head, her small lips curving into an encouraging smile.

His heart pounded so hard he felt it difficult to move his tongue. But he was determined. Today, he would tell her. Just like in his dream. Maybe if he started telling about his dream, he could trick this hesitant mind of his and let his heart speak.

**"Y-yesterday I dreamt... of meeting you."** He bit his lips. This was still hard...

Nisha grinned, her eyes crinkling in amusement.

**"That wasn't a dream."**

**"...Eh?! What do you mean?"**

He had misheard, right?

**"Last night... was no dream. We met."** While Nisha giggled, a faint red blush also appeared on her cheeks.

No...No way!

That wasn't...

That dream...

Met...

Confession...

Had he really very actually confessed to her in such a bold manner?!

_I want to be with you. I'm asking you to stay._

"_Why?"_

_I love you. That's why. The only reason._

"_W-Why? Why do you love me?"_

_Because it's yo-_

"_Don't say that! I'm not the one you think, so this reason is nil."_

_Then I don't know… No. I do know why._

"_Then..?"_

_Simple. It's because it's me._

"_H-How does that make any sense…"_

_I love you because I'm me. I am human. Humans need food and water like they need day and night. I need you. Your presence is my day, and your absence is my night._

"_T-That's not right. You're… Just… Why would I be?"_

_Because I love you. What else do you need to want to be with someone? You're the sun that lights up my day, the sun that makes it the day, and the sun that lights up my nights through the moon, pale memory of you. That is who you are to me, because I am me, a human, and I love you. I love your kindness and your smiles. I love how you walk and how you space out. I'm mesmerized when you are here, because you're here. Because I am me, a human, and I fell for you._

His consciousness blanked out.

* * *

Nisha's smile quickly turned into a worrying expression when she saw Nathan swaying, then fainting on the spot.

"Waah! Nathan!"

Rushing over, she found that he had merely lost consciousness. Everything was alright.

Letting out a sigh, a warm smile spread on her face while she kneeled down beside him. Gently, she placed his head in her lap, softly stroking his short hair.

"So soft-hearted... Am I making the right choice? Am I not condemning him out of selfishness?"

Nisha shook her head, tears in her eyes. She clearly remembered his words last night. He had fought for her, for the chance to make his own choice. How could she now question his right to do so.

Letting out a suspiciously desperate laugh, she wiped the unshed tears away.

_This human. This boy. How can he upset my heart to this extend? Crying like a first stage rakshasa. Isn't it absurd?_

But still, she observed the sleeping face of this very human with an affectionate gaze.

Nathan slowly opened his eyes, his vision still unfocused.

What had happened? He only remembered telling Nisha of his dream... that wasn't a dream after all.

He closed his eyes again, enjoying the gentle touch on his forehead.

Touch... Wait... Not a dream!

Shocked, he opened his eyes wide, trying to sit up instantly.

But unsuspectingly, he felt his head being pushed back down on something soft, with surprising strength. **"Eh? Wha-"**

Finally, his dazed vision cleared and he saw a beautiful face smiling down at him. Nisha's face.

**"It's all right, just rest a bit."**, she softly said.

Of course, he obeyed.

_Wait. So soft, what... Nisha didn't bring a pillow, did she? No this is... her lap!_, it dawned on him.

He didn't try to sit up. Instead, he blushed ferociously, feeling even his earlobes burn with heat.

_So embarrassing... But also nice... It doesn't hurt staying like this for a bit, does it?_

A few minutes passed in complete silence, while Nisha continued to tousle his hair. Now that he was awake, she was a bit flustered and faintly blushed about her own boldness.

After all, she didn't know much about sincere relationships or how to behave properly.

Was what she did okay?

Feeling her affection, but also insecurity, Nathan calmed himself down. A lot.

It had not been a dream. So what? Obviously, she didn't reject him.

With new courage, he took a deep breath, capturing Nisha's eyes with his.

**"Nisha. I love you."**

There. It was out. And not only in his dreams.

Of course, his heartbeat sped up again while he waited for her reaction.

The red color on her smooth cheeks intensified. Her lips trembled and her eyes glittered with tears.

What was that expression she showed? Pity? Gratitude? Joy? Excitement? Or everything at the same time?

**"Nathan..."**, she whispered, lowering her head.

Their faces, their lips only inches apart from each other, she hesitated.

How do you kiss a true kiss? A kiss of sincere love, and not just pure desire?

She didn't know. What if she did it wrong? Would he forgive her?

But this very moment, she suddenly felt strong hands rimming her face, pulling her down, making their lips meet for the first time.

Instantly, she felt all stiffness disappear from her body, giving in to that irresistible temptation to let down her guard, to just give into this moment's warm embrace.

Closing her eyes, she felt nothing but his warmth, his lips moving on hers, sending shivers down her spine.

This was not just her body desiring him. This was her soul craving for an anchor, even if only for the moment.

A human's lifespan was limited. She knew this.

Even so.

She wanted to love.

Wanted to feel at home.

Wanted to drown in his warmth, giving back as much as she could.

* * *

Nathan felt elevated, joyous, absolutely euphoric.

Nisha. Nisha!

Having his love returned by her, how could he not be happy?

Their lips connecting, their hearts beating as one.

He felt as though he was floating, able to soar the skies.

But also as though they could stay like this forever, enjoying each other's presence, this unique closeness.

He wanted to never let go.

A numb feeling started to spread through his body.

To stay with her until he died. That was his hope and wish.

He felt his mind fizzle out while his body's reflexes kicked in and forced him to take a deep, vital gasp of air.

**"Nathan!"**

* * *

At the end of the day, he had fainted twice in front of the girl he loved.

But it had definitely been worth it.

_After all, this had been the first of my happiest days._

* * *

**.**

**.**

**.**

**Ok, so this was chapter 15! **

**...**

**The Urvasi and Menaka bit came from 1. I wanted to tie this chapter to the rest of the story a bit, 2. An all-OC (or so) chapter is a little boring, and last but not least, 3. because not including our trademark weird humor would be heartbreaking.**

**Sorry that we were a week late... I'll try to make up for it... But since I'll be going holidays, I can't promise anything...**

** To next time!**

**Nualie**

**.**

**.**

**.**

**Ashes' Omake: Nathan in Hell**

later, in hell

"hey buddy why're you here?"

Nathan: "Nastika.."

"eh? what?"

Nathan shows pervy face

"... you're sick man"

Nathan: "She was blonde, hot, and 100% worth it."


	16. Gresvan- 4

**Since I ended up being so damn late I'm posting it now.**

**My biggest apologies. This time it's RL's fault though. **

**I got stuck in non-internet land for a week after sending the chapter for beta and _then_ Rojo (who kindly corrected the grammar, thank you very much!) had to send it again since Skype somehow lost the first one, but there was a few days' delay because she wasn't at home...**

**Pfaaa. But at the very least... Here it is! **

* * *

Nathan was confused.

Everything around him was too… Colorful.

He was seating on a giant lollipop… that was floating a meter above the ground. The wide sky was bright yellow above him, with crimson clouds, declining in orange and pink as it went closer to the horizon. The candy was in the middle of a bright blue leafed forest with purple trunks.

Okay, something was definitely wrong.

Was he dreaming? It all felt so real, and he rarely ever had lucid dreams, but that must be it.

He climbed down from the floating candy and started walking. The Quarter could hear a river behind the trees, so he decided to head this way, taking his time. There was no hurry, since he was dreaming.

The river was constituted of steaming molten chocolate. How unoriginal.

The flying gummy bears were more exotic.

He dipped his finger into the chocolate and licked it. Milk chocolate, with a little… lemon. It was boiling and bubbling, but it only felt warm to him.

He looked around aimlessly, and decided to follow the river. Whatever the reason he was dreaming about Candyland was, there must be _something_ happening somewhere.

Although it felt a little disturbing that the air reminded him of Nisha's scent.

Err… He wasn't _that_ obsessed with his new girlfriend, right? Right?

…

They came back to his house hand in hand. He'd been very embarrassed that she ended up being the one to walk him home but she brushed it off. He went to sleep almost immediately…

Yes, he was definitely dreaming.

The grass was really soft under his bare feet. For some reason unknown to him, he was wearing an orange toga. It went pretty well with his flame-colored hair.

**"****Peek-a-boo!"**

Nathan jumped, startled. To the unasked question "can you get goose bumps in a dream?" he had just found out the answer was yes. Well that was that.

Nathan stared at the midget before him. She looked around ten, with shoulder length black hair and pale skin. She was wearing a black dress stopping at her knee, which contrasted sharply against the colorful setting.

Her eyes reminded him of the lake he saw during their hike the day before…

**"****Nisha?"**

The girl didn't answer, smiling softly. Instead she took his hand and gently led him down the bronze river.

They walked silently, until she broke the silence with her melodic voice.

**"****Did you enjoy yesterday?"** she asked without looking at him, still smiling.

**"****Yes! Of course!" **he answered immediately. Dream or no dream, how could she have any doubt about his reaction to the picnic?

**"****Good, then."**

Nathan didn't react, remembering his last dream, the darkness and the shadow-less child.

How "Nisha" had told him she had planned to leave…

**"****You… You aren't going to run away, right?"**

She seemed surprised by the question and came to a halt. She still wasn't looking at him, staring at the ground and hiding behind her bangs.

She nodded.

**"****No, I am not. Not anymore. I don't think I could, don't worry."**

It appeared to him that she smiled to herself, although he wasn't sure.

They resumed walking, still holding hands.

Nathan was relieved by "Nisha's" words. She wasn't leaving anymore… so… now… onto information gathering. He preferred to keep a blind eye most of the time… But he still remembered Nisha's words among the flowers.

**"****It wasn't a dream."**

Nathan stole a glance at the child holding his hand. There was something strange on her upper back, beneath her dress, but he found it rude to ask.

The Nisha he was used to had looked a lot like this raven-haired child when he met her for the first time. He had been a kid as well, back then. Nathan absorbed himself in his memories, almost forgetting the warmth in his hand, the monotone rhythm of their steps helping his nocturnal daydream.

On his twenty-second summer he had noticed her while playing football with his friends in a square, and from then on, it seemed to him she always was there.

At first glance he hadn't liked her at all. If anything she had looked a little freaky to him. She never played in the park, she only watched. Sometime she would send back stray balls, but that was it. Sometimes sitting on a tree branch or a bench, sometimes standing beside or even in the middle of the field; sometimes creepily staring at the younger children, sometimes humming or singing while watching clouds; always alone.

Finally, he'd asked his parents if they knew who the child was. One of his friends pretended she was a poltergeist or ectoplasm, the ghost of a child who died there a moonless night. But it didn't seem right to him, he didn't see through her at all and everyone could see her. She even answered, albeit usually briefly, when talked to. Not that he had tried.

He remembered this like yesterday. His mother had that afflicted look she used when talking about orphans, war victims and his attempts at cooking. She had hugged him close, confusing him. For one second he had thought she truly was a ghost or maybe he was a sick and seeing things and she was about to send him to a mental hospital. Such weird things his childish mind could believe.

She had checked no one was close enough to hear and she had very, very slowly explained to him she came from far away and still needed to get used to her new life, and that she was a Quarter just like him and he should be very polite and kind to her and to tell his friends, and that she wasn't creepy, just shy.

Only very recently he'd found out she had been discovered among the vestiges of a heretic village destroyed by their army. He _could_ recall his parents being happy that this menace had been eradicated, but he hadn't understood anything of the reason other than "they were the bad guys".

Apparently, the young girl had simply smirked bitterly to the men who tried to persuade her to follow them to safety, refusing to speak, but somehow she had agreed to follow them. Maybe out of loneliness.

Anyway, he had told what he knew of her story to his friends and stayed away from her.

Slowly, very slowly, she had made friends with the native children, still quiet, but now more familiar, and always kind to everyone, eager to resolve fights in the funniest and strangest ways. Occasionally she would gift little statuettes she made to random people, and that made him snicker.

He still only watched her from far away. He told himself it was because she was a girl, a _whole year_ younger than he was, too.

She had been an element of his childhood in some way, always had an aura of mystery around her. For a long time he had vaguely thought she was some kind of fairy among humans, she always seemed so perfect. He never saw her at any academy, and thus assumed she didn't need to go, being a know-it-all mystical being.

He was surprised to learn she couldn't use divine magic at all. He didn't know if she just had a high fiendish affinity instead or something else.

Nathan wasn't sure, but he thought he had fallen for her when she saved his life.

It was ten years ago already… She had been there for a couple years, and if he did think of her from time to time, it wasn't very kind thoughts. Everyone either liked her, or avoided her altogether. Nathan was in the second group.

He had been in a magic academy for years now, even if he wasn't very talented, he had been confident he could hunt down the Asura sura causing havoc in the forest surrounding the city that was worrying his parents so much.

How very wrong he had been.

He wasn't sure how exactly either had found him so quickly. First, the menacing Upani and then her.

He had no chance alone against the giant centipede. He had been lying on his back, blood pouring from his arm and head hurting like hell after being hit, waiting to be eaten.

Next thing he knew, she was running, carrying him in her arms and scolding him for his carelessness. She wasn't even breathless.

Once a magician healed him, his parents grounded him, and Nathan couldn't see her for a couple weeks.

But even after his life was back to normal, he hadn't known how to thank her. He started following her around for days until she asked him what was wrong with him. Not that she had needed words for her inquiry; her eyebrows frowning had immediately made him understand.

His first words to her had been a very embarrassed "I'm sorry I hated you. Thank you for saving my life."

Her first answer to him had been "It's was the right thing to do." And then she was back playing with the other kids, leaving him with a sentiment of dissatisfaction.

From then on, he resumed watching her from afar, but no longer with disapproving eyes. He later started worrying she might get aggressed by someone as he realized the streets weren't always safe and began following her sometimes, although he got in trouble more often than she did.

**"****We're here, mister daydreamer."**

So he did answer the question "can you daydream in a dream?" as well, huh.

The small warmth in his hand was gone, and even if he really hadn't paid it any attention, he already missed it.

They were on a cliff, and the infinite forest dominated the landscape with its rainbow shades. Some flying candy broke the gradient monotony of the sky…

She sat down, legs hanging carelessly, and he followed.

**"****Well, it's a lot less gloomy than yesterday, don't you think?" **Nisha said after a moment.

He looked at the child seated by him. She looked very… peaceful. He didn't know why.

**"****I guess so."**

He wasn't sure how to start. The ice-blue sun above them was slowly plunging toward the horizon.

**"****Don't you think that we need to talk?" **she asked, sensing his hesitation.

He had too many questions; he didn't know where to start.

**"****Go on, I won't get angry. Promise. Don't bother being polite, we're the only ones here."** She encouraged him.

Why wasn't she looking at him? Was she… scared underneath that cheery facade?

**"****Why do you look so small here?"** He finally asked.

She chuckled, but answered casually. **"Because this is who I really am."**

That made Nathan confused. **"What do you mean, Nisha?"**

**"****Exactly what I said. No matter how I look like in the real world, I really am this child you're seeing. I rarely ever show it in other's dreams, though."**

Nathan wasn't sure he understood what she meant, but something else piqued his interest.

**"****So… This is my dream? How can you be inside of it?"**

She looked a little embarrassed, like back when she told him he hadn't dreamt his confession.

He almost felt the blush coming back just thinking of it…

**"****I'm using a transcendental, actually. If you don't like it, I can stop coming…"**

Transcendental? Quarters that could use those were really rare. But the Nisha with him didn't seem much like a Quarter. Was she actually a Half using something to hide her true identity?

Should he just ask?

**"****Are you really a Quarter?"** he inquired, sounding silly even to him.

Nisha didn't answer immediately. She gazed at the scenery, chewing on her lip nervously and clenching her small fingers. Like she was debating with herself.

He waited patiently, although her extended refusal to speak made him nervous.

Why were their voices the only thing he could hear here?

**"****No."**

He looked at her, flabbergasted. He had vaguely suspected something was off due to her unusual strength and speed first, then because of her strange actions but…

Nisha took a deep intake of breath.

**"****I'm sorry I lied, but I didn't have much choice to get into this city quietly, without killing anyone. I half wanted to avenge the ones who died in that sura-worshipping town, but I couldn't bring myself to. The stupid racists who caused that massacre should be really glad that you kind kids exist… Well, I still killed some of those foolish scums anyway… I just didn't take the rest of the city along."**

Okay, now he was shocked.

That was an understatement.

His kind, sweet, gentle Nisha had considered destroying his whole town, his whole world? Him? And she actually killed someone? More than one someone?

He remembered the mysterious death outbreak, over a decade ago, that touched the higher spheres of their city. Politicians died in their sleep, their face distorted in anguish, some crying, but then the deaths stopped suddenly it had slowly been forgotten...

It was Nisha? All along?

She was… a murderer? What? How?

**"****It's okay if you want to hate me. I told you all along, that I wasn't the one you thought I was. I used the same transcendental I'm using right now, actually. Not that I'm going to kill you, Nathan. I wouldn't even think of it even if you loathe me more than anyone else."**

Him? Hating Nisha?

She couldn't see him anymore. She stared at the sky and continued to rant.

**"****I thought you ought to know, before you involve yourself with me any more. It would be selfish of me, if I didn't. I… I do like you, Nathan. I do want to be with you, don't think otherwise. But it's not right if you don't know everything. You chose yesterday to love me and I respected your choice. Now, can… Can I ask you to choose again?"**

He continued to stare with his mind blank. Nisha, murderer. What were these two words doing in the same sentence?

**"****I'm,"** she sighed, **"I'm sorry. I still haven't told you everything. Do you want to know, Nathan? It's not right if I don't tell you, I know. It's ****_wrong_****. But if I do, we might need to leave this city, you see? I'll have to leave in any case, but if you still want to give me a chance… You'll have to go too. I'm sorry. You shouldn't have to make that kind of choice… But I'm not allowed to make it for you and it would be wrong anyway if I did."**

She paused for a second, watching him with a strange expression. Not a murderer's. She looked like she was torn.

**"****Well, maybe it's better this way. It'll be simple for you to choose between your family and me. It'll be easier for you to hate me. I really, really wanted to be with you that afternoon. I've been alone for… For… Too long. And you loved me even though I hadn't done anything special. I'm not sure anyone ever loved me like that. I… I don't think so. So, thank you for… For loving me, even if only for a short time."**

Short? Were ten years short? He loved her for ten years. That wasn't short. And she loved him back. Why was she talking about hate? Did he hate her for killing people he'd only vaguely heard of? People she hated? Was she from that heretic village? Was revenge so wrong then?

Could he love a murderer?

Weren't murderers people as well? Why would he stop loving her because of a little blood staining her hands when he'd adored her for ten years after she saved his life?

It made… no sense at all. He wouldn't hate her for that. She still was the same Nisha he had been talking to a minute ago. She was the same person. She had been a murderer all along, so what? She did it for a reason, didn't she? They killed people precious to her.

So why was she talking about leaving town? He could keep that a secret. Who would have believed such a sweet child had killed grown men with a transcendental, anyway?

**"****Nathan?"**

**"****It's okay. I can't blame you for taking revenge. I can understand." **He said, although he was still a little disturbed.

She smiled softly and gently brushed his hair.

**"****Nathan. That's not the problem. I told you, I'm not a Quarter."**

He thought of his parents. His father so young and his mother so old.

He almost gulped to swallow the lump in his throat, but he didn't.

**"****That's okay. My parents are a Pureblood and a Half, you know. Is that what's bothering you?"**

**"****You don't understand, do you?" **she said sadly, ignoring his question.

He felt a shiver down his spine. He had the presentiment he wouldn't like whatever she was about to say. Or at the very least, it would be at least as disturbing as her being a murderer…

**"****Nathan… I am not human." **

Hadn't he just said Halfs were okay? What did she…

**"****I am a Nastika."**


	17. Gresvan- 5

**Personally I do think their relationship is a bit (more than a bit?) wrong, but hey, that's the Kuberaverse.**

**Also the romance isn't supposed to be the focus. I kind of got carried away here.**

…

**I'M NOT LATE YAHOOO**

**By the way, BD stands for Before D. Because Currygom never said what we had before D0.**

**Pay attention to time indications, otherwise you'll be confused.**

* * *

_66 BD, Nathan's Room, Gresvan_

"**I am a Nastika."**

There. She said it. The straight truth, no tricks or gimmicks.

Levi was… scared.

She was never very close to anyone. Sure, she was friendly around everyone (well, everyone but Menaka) but not with anyone in particular. They thought of her as a foolish, naive child. They didn't care about her as more than an acquaintance.

She wasn't even sure they would be sad if she died in battle.

And why was that? Because she wanted a peaceful existence.

Why couldn't they all be friendly? Why didn't everyone want to be happy? Why did people get into conflict over insignificant things? Why did they fight each other at all?

Levi didn't like conflicts. That's why she removed herself from them. Of course she'd fight back if attacked, and there _was_ a few times she'd snapped (looking at you Agni) but that was about it.

But even if she didn't take part in conflicts, they still happened. In her mind, she couldn't quite understand why.

Deep, deep inside her, a voice whispered that people simply wanted conflicting things and that there was no helping it. They only cared about what they could see, not the bigger picture. She could read the minds of those she touched, she knew that much.

How much she'd have given to read Nathan mind in this instant! He was out of her reach, unfortunately, and she felt rooted to both the real and the imaginary ground.

Part of her was conscious that she was standing in the dark of Nathan's room, looming over his sleeping form; but all her mind really cared about was what was happening in Nathan's dream world.

No one had ever… loved her that much. At least not in that way. Never so wholeheartedly. Never so passionately.

She wanted to continue to feel that love. But… she didn't want to lie. She didn't like lies. She had lied enough to live here for ten years. She wanted to stop.

Just this once. She wanted everything, or nothing at all.

_You're foolish, _hushed the little voice in the back of her mind. _So old yet so young. Naive little girl that wants a perfect Prince Charming._

"**I see."**

Levi snapped out of her thoughts. The dreamy landscape was fading away, but Nathan didn't seem to notice.

Levi couldn't quite process the goofy grin on his face.

"**You were so perfect, of course there was something fishy. But a Nastika? That's awesome! You've seen other planets, then? What does it look like from space?"**

Levi blinked once.

Levi blinked twice.

It took her a full ten seconds to regain control of her lungs.

"**That's all?" **She finally asked.

Nathan looked a bit surprised but the question, running his hand through his orange hair in confusion. "**What is?"**

"**I… I have lived for over a billion years, I will outlive you by over a billion years, I have seen more that you ever will, I could destroy this planet on a whim- And it's all it does to you?"**

Nathan's expression grew warmer, and Nisha's heartbeat fluttered.

The landscape was now completely gone, but they were still both standing in a completely blank space.

"**Yes."**

_You're strange._

_But, that's okay._

* * *

Nathan vaguely wondered if making a habit of waking up to Nisha's face was morally wrong.

At least his head wasn't on her lap this time.

"**You're in my room?" **he realized.

It was her turn to be completely red. She stumbled a couple steps away from his bed when he sat up.

"**I... I... need ph-physical contact… F-For this transcendental to work…" **she said, averting her eyes.

Cute.

"**Do we really need to run?"**

"**What are you talking about?" **Nisha asked, surprised.

"**You said we'll need to run. Is it really necessary?"**

She seemed a bit surprised by the question. It seemed perfectly logical to the Quarter, though. She lived inconspicuously for ten years, how would dating him change anything?

"**Well I guess we don't have to disappear immediately… But if we ever have kids, people will think it's suspicious."**

_K-kids? She's already considering kids? We just started dating! _

"**Err, sorry, but we're dating since yesterday. Aren't you thinking a little too far ahead?"**

If possible, her blush grew deeper.

"**Fine. We'll do what you want. I'm just worried about you. Someone could try to use you against me."**

Nathan shrugged. If the gods left her alone for ten years, dating a human shouldn't change much.

"**Don't worry, we-"**

Nathan couldn't finish his sentence. He heard heavy footsteps on the other side of the wall, and the door opened.

"**Who're you talking to?" **Asked his unwelcome visitor, yawning. "**It's a bit early for your girlfriend to sleep with you, you know?"**

"**Ahem dad I-" ** Nathan lamely tried to excuse Nisha's presence in the room… Before noticing she was gone. The curtains had barely moved, but she probably fled through the windows.

Well, he'd see her in the morning.

* * *

_60 BD, Temple of Resurrection,Gresvan_

"**We gather here to unite these two people in marriage. Their decision **

**to marry has not been entered into lightly and, today, they publicly **

**declare their private devotion to each other. **

**The essence of this commitment is the acceptance of each other in entirety, as lover, companion, and friend. **

**A good and balanced relationship is one in which neither person is overpowered nor absorbed by the other, one in which neither person is possessive of the other, one in which both give their love freely and without jealousy. **

**Marriage, ideally, is a sharing of responsibilities, hopes, and dreams. **

**It takes a special effort to grow together, survive hard times, and be loving and unselfish."**

Nathan was smiling almost mockingly, but Nisha knew it was only because of the irony of the situation. _She_ was the one who asked, after all- not him, who didn't see the point.

_I've never had a mother-in-law. I'm sure she is delighted, being able to assist to her son's wedding before her death. _

"**Do you both pledge to share your lives openly with one another, and **

**to speak the truth in love? Do you promise to honor and tenderly **

**care for one another, cherish and encourage each other, stand **

**together, through sorrows and joys, hardships and triumphs for all **

**the days of your lives?"**

Levi smiled at the words, but her voice didn't falter when she echoed Nathan's words.

"**We do."**

"**Do you pledge to share your love and the joys of your marriage with **

**all those around you, so that they may learn from your love and be **

**encouraged to grow in their own lives?"**

_No. I can't visit the stronghold like that. Go out of my head, traitorous image of Gandharva in a wedding dress!_

Levi almost chuckled, but she managed to control herself when she answered again.

"**We do."**

Nathan's voice had gotten deeper over the years, but his orange hair still resisted any kind of discipline.

His chocolate eyes were glittering in joy.

"**May these rings be blessed as a symbol of your union. As often as **

**either of you look upon these rings, may you not only be reminded of **

**this moment, but also of the vows you have made and the strength of **

**your commitment to each other."**

Nathan was grinning like a fool when he took her hand, and she could hear the trembling of his voice. Waves of love rippled through her, and she felt a slight blush on her face.

Again.

"**I, Nathan, promise to love and support you, Nisha, and live each day **

**with kindness, understanding, truth, humor, and passion. With this **

**ring I thee wed."**

The ring was warm on her finger.

Levi wondered if she should use her real name, but she didn't want to throw a fit. She felt her heart beating like crazy. The old man presiding the ceremony was smiling encouragingly at her, and she took a deep breath.

"**I," **she began, and paused- **Leviathan,** she continued in the speech of the sura before resuming in human tongue, "**promise to love and support you, Nathan, and live each day with kindness, understanding, truth, humor, and passion. With this ring I thee wed."**

Nathan's ring fit perfectly, like hers. For this once she was actually wearing human clothes, a white dress Nathan's mother chose for her. The overjoyed expression of the old woman blew away any protest she could have had.

The cleric looked slightly surprised of the apparent omission of her name, but no one commented.

The silence only lasted a second before he finished the speech.

"**Go now in peace and live in love, sharing the most precious gifts you have- **

**the gifts of your lives united, and may your days be long on this earth. **

**I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride."**

_Now, the best part of the ceremony,_ was the only thing Levi could think before her husband's lips met hers.

* * *

_56 BD, Cemetery, Gresvan_

She didn't know what to tell him. It was the first time, in all the years she'd known him, that he cried so desperately.

She, on the other hand, had seen too many deaths. The tears didn't come, and all she could do was try to comfort him.

"**Life goes on and time turns. It is the saddest thing but to humans, it is bound to be… I'm sorry."**

He didn't seem to hear her, and all she could do was continuing to hold his hand as his mother's coffin disappeared into the grave.

"**You will see her again in the afterlife. Be glad you are human."**

He looked up this time, and wordlessly squeezed her hand.

* * *

_53 BD, The House On The Hill, Gresvan_

"**Do you like our new home?" **she asked, unsure of his reaction.

It had been a surprise for him, that house a mile away from the city. Living there without his mother seemed too painful for her husband, so she had secretly planned this- but she didn't know if he would appreciate it.

"**You built that alone?"** He asked, flabbergasted.

"**I can sculpt, I learned how to cook solely for you years ago, what is so strange in me trying to build a house?" **she asked, trying to joke.

He didn't speak- but his gratitude overflowed her when he took her hand, leading her into the house.

"**Exploration time~" **he laughed in response, and she laughed as well.

She was glad she could do something to relieve his sadness, even a little.

* * *

_44 BD, The House On The Hill, Gresvan_

"**So, what should we name...?" **Nathan wondered aloud.

"**You can choose, if you want." **

"**You're the mother, you get a say as well, Levi…" **

Now that they lived away from the city, he took the habit to call her by her real nickname, and she liked that. If Levi was the truth, Nisha was a lie.

She didn't like lies.

"**Do you think it'll be a boy or a girl?" **He asked, and Levi smiled.

"**Actually," **she answered, "**I have no idea." **

He sighed, but she could perceive his amusement.

"**Then," **her husband decided, "**I choose a boy's name, and you choose a girl's name. How's that?"**

She smiled again. She smiled often since she knew Nathan. "**Fine with me. Do you have any idea?"**

"**What about… Nasha?" **

She raised an eyebrow.

"**Doesn't it sound a lot like Nisha, though?"**

"**That's the point," **he mocked. "**So? What about you? Any idea?"**

"**Leah." **she answered immediately.

It was another anagram of her name, actually. Her other option, had Lave been a girl.

It had a nice ring to it.

"**Yeah, I like it."**

* * *

_36 BD, The House On The Hill, Gresvan_

"**Nasha! It's not because you have a mental age of two that you should try to re-paint your room's walls with your hands when you're already eight years old!"**

The little Half just laughed, unapologizing.

He had his father's bronze eyes, but his hair was very dark brown. His skin was a pale purple, and he had fins-like wings on his back, like his mother -and like his long-dead half-brother, Levi had remarked. He was only wearing brown pants at the moment.

He stuck his little purple tongue to his mother and ran out.

The Nastika sighed and proceeded to try to catch him.

* * *

_24 BD, The House On The Hill, Gresvan_

"**Mom! Hey, Mom!"**

Levi was comfortably seated on the sofa. She looked up from her book to witness her "five" years old son's expression.

"**What's wrong?" **she asked, slightly worried. He didn't look hurt but…

"**There's someone who wants to see you."**

Levi was outside before the end of his sentence. Visitors other than Nathan's father -who came to know her identity after all- were rare. Who..?

She almost stopped dead in her tracks when she recognized _who_ was her visitor.

"**Visnu?" **

"**Hello, Levi and… Nathan, I believe. Long time no see~"**

He waved, friendly as a puppy, but she still put herself between Nathan and him. Not that it would change much if he wanted to attack them, but better safe than sorry.

"**Don't be so stuck up, I just wanted to meet your kid. What's his name? Nasha? That's cute~"**

Nathan looked a bit spooked, but he didn't say anything.

"**Who's that shady guy?" **peppered a tiny voice from behind her.

They stayed silent a second before they all started laughing. Some more nervously than others. But they all laughed, to Nasha's bewilderment.

"**I'll prepare the tea, Nathan. Poisoning a primeval god is a no-no."**

* * *

_D0, The House On The Hill, Gresvan_

"**You two will wait in a city. It'll be safer."**

_Stupid humans. Of any time you had to reject us it had to be __**now**__? When I finally have a family?_

"**Mom? Where are you going?" **

She brushed his brown hair with her left hand, trying to comfort her son.

"**Don't worry, Nasha. I'll be back soon." **

He looked worried. He had a mental age of around eleven years, so he didn't really understand what the whole fuss was about, but...

"**If Gandharva called for a meeting, I better go." **She sighed.

Visnu's second visit was to inform her about it, after all. They both feared feared her leader would do something harsh like destroy random planets- the more people who could dissuade him were there, the better. Well, Varuna currently being on Gresvan, Levi didn't see why he would choose that planet over another anyway, but… He was probably _extremely_ annoyed right now.

Yep, better hurry.

"**Can't you bring us along?" **asked Nathan. He looked very worried, too. And maybe a little guilty.

"**Hell no. If it's about whether to retaliate against humans or not, I can't bring humans along." **She saw him sigh sadly and her tone softened. "**I'll be back as soon as I can, don't worry."**

She kissed them goodbye and departed, forgetting in her hurry to give her son the sweets she had prepared for him.

* * *

She hadn't known it would be the last time she would see them.


End file.
